Salt

The storyline for this movie was very interesting. Soviets had gotten their hands on American children when they were very young and trained them to be on their side to help overthrow governments when they were older. Somehow they got back to their parents or others to raise them (outside of the USSR), but they had this brainwashing instilled in them.

At the beginning of the movie, Angelina Jolie's character, Evelyn Salt (a CIA agent) is accused by a Russian of being one such Russian spy. She realizes her husband is in danger and runs from authorities to make sure he's ok.

The trailers for this movie made it look better than it was. But, it did keep me guessing. I had no idea if Salt was a good guy or a bad guy. Unfortunately, Jolie's fight scenes weren't very believable (and there were quite a few of them, so that was distracting). And, the movie is left wide open at the end.

The A-Team

The A-Team wasn't something I watched when I was little (I had other things on my mind when I was 3-6 years old). But, my husband was a fan, and rented this yesterday. When B.A. Baracus had his first scene, I said, "Mr. T", so that gives you and idea how familiar I am with the A-Team. ;)

Matt seemed a little disappointed in the film. I thought it was ok. I was in and out of the room changing laundry, and then I watched while I folded laundry.

Killers

I rented this a few weekends ago when Matt was out of town, because he had no desire to see it. However, I think he would have at least sort of liked it. It reminded me a lot of RED.

Ashton Kutcher plays an assassin who quits his job after meeting and falling in love with Jen (Katherine Heigl). They get married and have a happy life for three years or so, and then his old boss contacts him. He's not interested in getting back in his old line of work, but he suddenly finds himself on a kill list. People he thought were his friends, neighbors and co-workers are suddenly trying to kill him for a huge amount of money. His wife is very surprised, but fights alongside him.

So, it was an interesting show. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. People do get killed, and it's portrayed almost in a funny manner, which is just weird to me (since murder isn't funny).

Toy Story 3

This was a pretty cute continuation of the Toy Story movies, but it had some definite scary parts (ie the crazy monkey). Zoie (7) really liked it, but I think she left the room once. Jonas (3) left the room several times and hid on my lap once or twice too.

How to Train Your Dragon

Matt's parents gave this movie to Zoie for her birthday a few weeks ago and she really loves it. She and Jonas quote lines from it daily, and they've only seen it a handful of times.

Anyway, it was a cute cartoon about Vikings and dragons, and how the Vikings come to realize that they don't need to kill the dragons.

The voice of the main character was a total shock to me. It didn't really fit what I was expecting (it's the main character from Sorcerer's Apprentice, who has a Christian Slater-ish sound to his voice).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

I was pretty excited to see the newest Harry Potter film. In anticipation I listened to the book. I know, I know, that can ruin a movie, but I hadn't read it since it came out in 2007, and I thought brushing up would be good.

For the most part I thought that the movie was pretty true to the book. There were some definite changes, but I found myself not bothered by most of them. I thought about why they didn't keep certain things by the book, and decided that most of what they did were time savers that still kept the main story line in tact.

My husband thought it was kind of boring, and I can see what he meant, although I didn't feel exactly the same way. I felt that the 7th book dragged on while Harry, Ron and Hermione are wandering around trying to find Horcruxes and hide. While some parts of the movie were a little slow moving, there was a lot of action.

Part of Matt's beef was that the whole 2 1/2 hour movie was spent finding and destroying one Horcrux. That's not all that happened, but as that is the main goal of the trio, it does seem like a lot of time spent on one item.

I thought where the movie ended was actually a pretty good spot. The trio had some success, so it wasn't leaving on a defeatist note (although they weren't the only ones with success, so there's the suspense angle).

Some of you may have been curious about nudity rumors you've heard. Having just listened to the book, I knew that the only nudity in the book would have been in Part II (near the end, and hopefully that part wouldn't be in the movie since it doesn't seem necessary-but when does Hollywood ever go for necessary). So, for a little refresher. The horcrux that the trio finds is a locket. They don't have the means to destroy it, and when they wear it it affects their moods (in a negative way). So, they take turns wearing it to carry the burden. When they finally get what they need to destroy the locket, Ron is the man given the task. But, the locket is trying to stop him, so he thinks all these things that aren't true (namely that Harry and Hermione have a relationship). With a bit of a cartoonish look to their images, you see Harry and Hermione apparently shirtless embracing and making out. Although I think the book did have a relationship between those two as one of Ron's fears, this definitely was not in the book. The shirtless-ness was totally unnecessary.

Anyway, I did like the movie, but it's not one for young kids that have probably seen the other movies. I'm looking forward to the final movie.

RED

I saw this the day after Thanksgiving, and I'm still trying to process it. Not process as in I didn't get it, but process as in decide if I liked it or not.

It's about Retired and Extremely Dangerous ex-CIA agents. A group of these "oldies" gets on a hit list, and they get together to fight for their lives and figure out who is behind the kill orders on them.

I was laughing quite a bit. My confusion was just that some of it seemed like things I shouldn't be laughing over. You know, like when a bad guy gets blown up.

My favorite part was probably when Bruce Willis stepped out of a moving police car he'd stolen and he steps out of the way just in time for it to spin past him while he goes to shoot the guy who is trying to kill him (I'm doing it no justice, but you can probably see that part in a trailer if you Google it).

City Island

Weird show that Matt picked. Rotten Tomatoes actually gave it a pretty good rating, but it was just strange. About a family that lives in City Island, Bronx, that doesn't communicate well at all. They all hide things from each other, and don't get along well. The dad, played by Andy Garcia, is a corrections officer and discovers that a new inmate is his son that he didn't know about. He takes him home, but doesn't tell the son or the rest of his family who the guy really is. Of course everything comes out in the end.

There were some entertaining and funny parts, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Remember Me

Horrible movie-don't waste your time. It's pretty depressing throughout, and will leave you needing to watch something else or read something or do whatever you can to get some happy thoughts in your mind.

Date Night

This movie is about a couple that's been married for several years, and their life is pretty routine. Get up, get ready, get the kids ready, go to work, come home, take care of kids, sleep. They get concerned about their marriage when they learn that some friends are getting divorced, and try to have a plan a date that is not the boring one they usually go on. Of course, everything goes wrong, and they end up being mistaken for a couple that is involved in some bad stuff. They're running from bad guys and have to pull together to survive the night.

There were a lot of funny parts. Things you could totally relate to in marriage, and just other funny things. Unfortunately, there was some language and a few other things that weren't great. If you could watch it edited, I'd definitely recommend it.

The Karate Kid

Nothing like the remake of a classic movie (can I use the word classic for a movie that was made in the 80s?).

Matt and I watched this with Rorie and Nate, and I'm not sure if we really liked the movie, or if it was just a fun one to watch with them. We were throwing out Karate Kid lines and stuffing our faces with junk food. Good times.

The remake was alright. Dre (not Daniel, played by Jaden Smith) and his mom move to China. The maintenance man (Jackie Chan) agrees to teach Dre Kung Fu after a beating by the mean boys in school. It followed the original in many ways, with just a few changes (names, locations, etc).

I didn't care for Dre's mouth. The kid is 12 for crying out loud (although I shouldn't have been surprised since he said the f word in The Pursuit of Happiness-a movie several years ago that he was in with his dad, Will Smith). Anyway, he wasn't dropping the F bomb in this one, but searing in any form, especially by young kids, is a turn off to me. The movie didn't have a lot of swearing-it just seems to stand out more when a kid is the one swearing.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid

If you aren't into boogers and other young boy isms, AVOID THIS MOVIE!

Matt let Zoie choose this one, and it was painful to watch (I stayed in the room but I think I was reading a book or something else).

Just Wright

Leslie Wright is a physical therapist who is a major Nets fan. She meets Scott McNight at a gas station one night after a game. They hit it off, but like every other guy, he is just interested in being her friend. Her god-sister Morgan is looking to be the trophy wife of an NBA star, and McNight falls for her. Then McNight is injured during a game, and Leslie gets the job of being his physical therapist to get him playing again. When it looks like he might not recover, Morgan ditches him. Leslie pushes him hard and gets him playing again, and they fall for each other and then Morgan shows up again.

It was a cute story, although the acting was subpar. And, it was pretty predictable, but I guess most romantic comedies are.

I did like how Scott McNight wasn't a womanizer like I picture most NBA stars to be. I also thought it was interesting that it showed players on opposite teams being friends. I hadn't really thought about them having friendships with their opponents.

The Bounty Hunter

This movie is about a divorced couple that comes together when the ex-husband gets hired to track down his ex-wife because she skipped a court appearance when she got a lead for a newspaper story she's working on (thus resulting in a warrant for her).

Parts were funny, other parts were not worth watching.

There aren't many great movies being made these days.

The Backup Plan

I decided to rent this when Matt was out of town (since I knew he didn't want to see it). I should have gone with his feelings-definitely not a winner of a show.

Zoe's going on with life, and decides she wants a baby (although she's not married and far from even having a relationship). She gets artificially inseminated, and then meets a guy. They fall for each other, and stay together even though she's pregnant.

The acting was ok, but it just wasn't a great show.

Dear John

Matt and I watched Dear John a few months ago. John, a soldier, is home on leave. He meets Savannah and they're together for two weeks or so and they fall in love. They keep in touch through letters when he goes back. (Totally reminded me of a missionary situation.) They have plans to be together as soon as his time is up, but following September 11, John reenlists. Savannah eventually sends him a "Dear John" telling him she's marrying someone else. And it goes on from there.

Overall it was a descent story, but I didn't like several things. I didn't feel like the "night in the barn" was necessary. And, I was totally bugged at Savannah's actions when John saw her after she was married. At least he was strong and left, but what a skank. You decide to marry someone-you deal with the consequences (even if you still love the other guy).

Alice in Wonderland

Okay everyone. Let's all have a round of applause for my first post on this blog. It's a big day, I know. Anyway, I think Andrea asked me a couple weeks ago what I thought about this movie, so I thought I'd do the full-fledged review.

The story goes along pretty well with the original. Same characters, same events (mostly). Johnny Depp obviously looks a little freaky, but he does an awesome job as the Mad Hatter. I thought the girl playing Alice did a pretty good job. The Queen of Hearts was awesome! The visuals were really well done in my opinion.

I'd give this movie two thumbs up, and I'd definitely watch it again. This is one I'll probably buy. Maybe a little scary for kids, but then you never know.

The Ghost Writer

Two thumbs way, way down. I'd give it more thumbs down if I had more thumbs. I definitely do not recommend this one. I'd seen a trailer, and thought Matt would like this suspense film. It . . . was . . . so . . . s . . . l . . . o . . . w!

Here's a spoiler breakdown for you:

The former prime minister of England (Pierce Brosnan) is writing his memoirs. He has a ghost writer helping him with it, but that guy ends up dead. A new ghost writer is hired (Ewan McGregor), and then Brosnan's character is accused of war crimes. McGregor's character finds that the memoirs have some lies, and he tries to get to the bottom of them. His life is in jeopardy. The prime minister is shot and killed, and then the memoir gets published. Then the ghost writer finally puts things together at the release party and realizes that the widow was a CIA agent, and she was influencing the prime minister's decisions (including the war crime actions). And then he walks out of the release party and is hit by a car and that's the end of the show. It felt like three hours, but apparently it was just over two. I was reading for the last half or so, occasionally looking up to see what was happening. I wasn't even sure what the point was. The ending was so abrupt, and since the only person who knew the truth was killed at the end, there was no resolution.

Eclipse

I gathered together six friends to watch Eclipse with me. I was quite excited to see it, but we didn't go opening day (in fact we waited until Monday, July 5th, which turned out to be an awesome day to go because the theater had their Family Day promo going and tickets were only $3 each).

I thought the movie was well done. It followed the book fairly well. I loved the beginning when Edward is trying to convince Bella to marry him and she tells him that everyone would think she was pregnant (the way she worded it was just funny). I also loved when Charlie was trying to give Bella "The Talk". So funny (and awkward). I was so sad for Jacob again. I wouldn't have minded if they gave an alternate ending to this film and had her choose Jacob instead.

I left not being completely satisfied, although I can't really put my finger the reason. Maybe it's just because it's still not over.

Anyway, enjoyable movie with great friends, and most definitely worth three bucks.

The Lightning Thief

My six-year-old and I went for a girls' outing to see this at the dollar theater. It is PG, so I hoped it'd be appropriate for her. She loved the book when we listened to it on CD.

Anyway, overall I thought the film was enjoyable. Zoie said she liked it and wasn't scared (there are quite a few Greek monsters).

Some of the things that were changed from the book didn't really seem great for a six-year-old though. The characters were older than they were in the book (Percy is 12 in the book, but seemed 16 or so in the movie). Thus, there were hormones. I don't recall the book having Hades' wife, but the film had her (quite skankily dressed). I also don't remember any swearing in the book, but the film had some.

I was bothered by the character Annabeth not being blonde. Seems like hair color is something you can easily follow.

There were quite a few other changes from the book, but on the whole, I thought the story was still told well.

Leap Year

Anna has been with her boyfriend Jeremy for four years, and is anxious for him to propose. When he gives her earrings instead of an engagement ring, she decides to follow him to Ireland (he's there for a medical convention) to propose to him on Leap Day (an Irish tradition). Bad weather causes her flight to land in Wales, and she has a very rough time trying to get to Dublin. Early on in the journey she meets Declan, who is in need of money to save his pub, so he offers to take her the rest of the way.

The story is predictable, but cute. I did have a hard time understanding some of the Irish dialogue though.

When in Rome

I went with some friends to see this at the dollar theater. We had a great time, but I think it was more the company than the greatness of the film.

Beth's life is all about her job. Her younger sister is getting married in Rome, and Beth goes over for the wedding. She takes some coins out of the Fountain of Love, and the guys who threw the coins in fall in love with her (complete strangers). They find her back home in New York and try to win her affection. She actually fell for one of the guys she met at the wedding, but can't tell if he really likes her or if he's under the spell too.

Kind of cute story, but silly (how serious could the show be with Jon Heder-aka Napoleon Dynamite-as one of the smitten men?).

Basically I'd give it an "eh". Fun to see with friends. Definitely not one I'd buy.

Happy Valley

Talk about a depressing movie (documentary). It's about the drug issues in Happy Valley. I went into the show thinking it was going to talk about the meth problems around, but that wasn't really touched on. It was more about how teens and adults get hooked on pain pills (and how that leads to harder stuff like heroine). Quite a few of the people interviewed said how the religion and culture here hinders people from admitting that they have a problem, so they don't get help. I can see how that could be the case, although I think I was trying to fight that idea.

Most kids are taught that drugs are bad (ie. the DARE program in schools). Unfortunately some kids don't get the anti-drug idea reinforced at home (one of the stories in the documentary talked about a girl getting high with her mom). One drug officer in the show said he'd been at parties where many of the kids taking pills (like percocet) were LDS, and they didn't think they were breaking the Word of Wisdom because it was a pill. Wow!

It made me really scared for my kids. Some of the parents of kids who had died from drug ODs seemed like they had good relationships with the kids. How can you avoid/prevent your kids from getting involved with this junk? How can kids be taught about the dangers of drugs, and not get it? I'm so glad my friends were good, and weren't into these things.

The editing in this was a bit distracting at times, but I'm glad I watched it. It helps strengthen my resolve to build my relationship with my kids. I want them to feel like we're friends, and want to be at our house instead of always going to friends' houses.

Sherlock Holmes

This was a pretty good film, but it was freakier than I expected. The way it showed Sherlock figuring things out was cool (the slow mo and the details he noticed). It was definitely left open for a sequel.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The title of this movie sounded familiar, so when I saw it at the library I thought I'd give it a try (it was free you know).

The basic storyline is about four close friends that will be going separate directions during their summer break (they're all 16 I think). They are out shopping before they leave and find a pair of jeans that (miraculously) fits all of them. They decide to rotate the jeans around during the summer, and the movie tells what happens to each girl during the break.

I liked their friendship, but I was TOTALLY bugged by the blonde girl (skank). Yes, she had some issues with her mom having past away and all, but going after a college guy who had to have been over 18 just made me mad. The age issue happened with the girl who went to Greece too.

So, I wouldn't recommend it. There are plenty of friendship movies out there that have legal relationships in them.

The King of Kong

This is a good one. It's a documentary about a competition between two guys trying to get the world record top score in Donkey Kong. One guy is the king of the dorks, the reigning champion of DK (he's pretty much like Dwight from the Office) who thinks he's all that, and the other is a humble, hard-working family man that has learned to play DK as well as the other guy.

There is an abundance of laugh-out-loud incredibly nerdy nerds in this film. It's like this secret world that you get a peek of. And you will get caught up in the rivalry for sure.

The one and only bad thing I can remember in this is actually one super gross thing. They show a photo of a guy (self)named "Mr. Awesome" posing in the buff with a lady covering his you-know-what with her own pose. So when they start elaborating on Mr. Awesome's background, just skip it.

Because the rest is sooo good!

Life is Beautiful

I know this came out years ago, but I got it again from Netflix because I remembered liking it. Well, it's still good! Many of you have probably seen this, but if you haven't, you've gotta.

Although this is about the Holocaust, I don't remember there being any disturbing images because it's about a father who keeps his son alive by telling him the whole thing is a game. It's super sweet, and every time they showed the mother I just started tearing up.

FYI, it's got subtitles.

The Princess and the Frog

When Wikipedia says that this movie is based loosely on ED Baker's book, they weren't kidding. The New Orleans setting was totally different from the book, although it was interesting. But, I HATED the voodoo. I didn't realize that was in there, and I don't think I would have taken the kids if I'd known.

Zoie liked it. Jonas didn't like it. Zoie asked me what my favorite part was, and I said "When it was over." That's due to the voodoo, which she didn't quite get. The book had a witch. She was a friendly witch, and the magic wasn't portrayed as Satanic. The Shadow Man in this movie was working with evil spirits. That was just a bit much for me in a kids' show.

The Maiden Heist

Matt picked this out recently. It's about three security guards that work in a museum. They've all worked there for years, and have become attached to certain pieces of art. They learn that the pieces they love are being sent to another museum, so they come up with a plan to "save" their pieces from being sent to Denmark.

It was sort of funny, but I didn't love it. William H. Macy is in the buff (toosh shots-ew) a few times.

Sons of Provo

A friend lent this to me recently. It is a mockumentary about a boy band in Provo, Utah. The songs were pretty funny (and well done-the three actors apparently have good voices).

I didn't love the show, but it did have some funny parts. Here's a YouTube video of one of the songs in the show.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

One of my friends gave this movie to me for my birthday. It was fun to watch it again. If you were born in or around the 80's and haven't seen it, it's worth watching again for a laugh.

The New World

A friend lent this to me recently, and wondered if I'd like it. Her husband was a fan, but she wasn't.

Anyway, it's about Pocahontas and her life (although I don't recall the movie actually saying the name Pocahontas at all). I'll come right out and say that I prefer the Disney portrayal (although the Disney version obviously has it's inaccuracies). It was interesting, and I had forgotten that Pocahontas didn't end up with John Smith, but it was much too long and slow. Quite a bit of sadness too (I won't spell it all out and spoil the whole thing).

The Ultimate Gift

Matt brought this home for a family movie night a few weekends ago.

A very wealthy man dies, and his family gathers to hear what they all get. Most are disappointed. One grandson is left with tasks he must complete in order to get his gift. He's a grown man (young), but hasn't worked a day in his life. He fights the tasks, but his lifestyle is taken away so it's live on the streets or do the tasks. He learns many great life lessons as he completes the tasks.

It didn't hold Matt's interest, and it was a bit long and deep for the kids, but it was a good story with a good moral lesson.

Ice Princess

Zoie picked this out the other day. It's about a senior in high school that is a physics genius. She does a physics project to help with a scholarship for college, and it is on the physics behind ice skating. She decides to try her theories, and she is a natural.

The acting wasn't great, but Zoie (6) seemed to enjoy the show. Matt spent most of the movie time playing a game on his iPod.

Yes Man

I find movies with Jim Carrey to be risky, so I wasn't very excited when Matt brought this one home for us.

Jim Carrey's character is stuck in a dead end job, and his life is going no where. He learns about motivational seminar about saying Yes to everything. He follows the idea, and finds that his life improves, until it doesn't.

Interesting idea-I mean, if we always say no to things we won't move forward. Obviously we have to say no to some things, but we should take time to consider our options before shutting everything down.

But, I wouldn't recommend this show. A few things were . . . disturbing. Overall it was a Jim Carrey show to miss.

The Blind Side

This movie is awesome. It's based on a true story and is really heartwarming (but it didn't make me cry. Yay.)
Since I'm good at forgetting to put the actual plot in my reviews, here you have one copied from nexflix.com:
Oversized African American Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean (Tim McGraw), Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL.

I love, love, LOVE Sandra Bullock's character in this movie. She is my hero. :) And I especially love what she tells Michael about what would happen if he got a girl pregnant while in college. My kinda woman. :)

Eragon

I recently read the novel Eragon, so when I saw this at the library, I decided to watch it. Unfortunately, it was quite different from the book. I completely understand the need to cut some things out and make some changes, but they really strayed. Urgals and Razac weren't depicted at all in the right way. Even the elf wasn't shown as an elf (the book went into a lot of detail about the pointed ears-would it have been so hard to give the girl pointed ears?).

I don't think I would have liked it, even if I hadn't read the book first.

The story is about a young man, Eragon, (age changed in the movie from the book BTW), who finds a blue "stone" in the forest while hunting. Turns out the stone is really a dragon egg, and it hatches for him. There is a wicked king that rules the land, who got rid of all the other dragons and riders. Since the egg hatches for Eragon, he's now a Dragon Rider, and the movie is about his journey as a Rider.

The Phantom of the Opera

My parents took me to see this musical when I was pretty young, and we had the music playing in our house quite frequently, but I couldn't really remember what it was all about. This film adaptation was well done, but I saw the stage version so many years ago I couldn't tell you if it was different.

There were a few places where the singing seemed a little off, but overall the acting/singing seemed pretty good. The story itself is a bit disturbing, but it kept my interest.

Bella

What, you've never heard of this? I'm shocked as the cover totes it as "The best movie of the year!" and #1 Rated Film. Just kidding. I never heard of it either, and came across it the other day.

Not a bad story, although a bit dragged out. The beard drove me a bit nuts though (if you watch it you'll understand).

If it was the best movie of 2006 I must have not watched any movies that year, but it was touching.

Star Trek

I'm not a Trekkie (I even had to google that to find the correct spelling), and was hesitant to even watch this movie, but it turned out to be better than I expected.

I didn't love young Captain Kirk-he was cocky and a jerk, and I was somewhat bothered that he had to be the one to save everyone.

But, other than that, it was an interesting story.

Avatar

We went to see this when we were up in Utah for Christmas. You have the choice of seeing it in 3-D or just regular. We went to the 3-D version, but honestly, I didn't see any way cool 3-D effects, and since the movie is so long (well over 2 hours) those glasses get really heavy and uncomfortable.

The movie was good, as long as you can ignore the shove-it-down-your-throat message. (All humans are evil, polluting creatures, who have already killed their mother earth and now have moved on to kill some other planet. One human "sees the light" and turns traitor to the human race, fighting against his own kind to save the life of the totally-in-tune-to-mother-earth creatures.) Think Fern Gully, only in 3-D.

But other than that message, it was a good movie. :)

Taken

This is a total guy movie. Full of action, one guy single-handedly kills all the bad guys, without help from anyone else, etc. Violent but not gory, so it was tolerable for me. Not a bad movie. Kind of like the movie "Transporter" only this one actually had a plot to it.

Guys will probably love it. Girls might like it. :)