Review: The Good Shepherd

Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) is recruited into a secret society and joins in at the birth of the CIA.

A fair movie with decent performances. Although, Edward Wilson has to be the most boring character/real person imaginable and with 2 and a half hours of movie that's a lot of boring. However, the twists and turns of his life were interesting and the spy action was very intriguing, double agents, friends who were enemies, enemies who were friends. Be prepared to really concentrate on the plot as it jumps backward and forward through his life and can be confusing with all the people switching sides. Don't expect any laughs either. I think I remember one joke, hmm maybe not. But who expects laughs from this kind of movie anyway. Definitely not a movie I want to see over and over again, but an interesting story about the CIA.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Spy stuff

3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer: Shrek the Third

Review: The Pursuit of Happyness

Chris Gardner (Will Smith) struggles to support and shelter himself and his son as he pursues an unpaid intership at a brokerage firm.

An inspirational movie with striking performances. Not really much to say since it is based on a true story.

Chris Gardner's son Christopher is played by Will Smith's actual son, Jadon Smith. I also noticed during the opening credits the name Dan Castellaneta, a name I reconized but could not place since there were many actors I recognized in the movie who's names I did not know. Then this evening I randomly visited The Simpsons Movie Yahoo page and it hit me. It's Homer Simpson. He plays the supervisor of the internship program. He also happens to have graduated from my alma mater NIU. You know me and my connections.

My favorite parts of the movie:

the perfomances
randomly reappearing bone density scanners
Christopher's jokes

5 out of 5 stars.

Trailer: Epic Movie

It might of been the mood I was in when I first saw this, but I found it hilarious. Hmm.

Review: Eragon

Eragon (Ed Speelers) finds a dragon egg and when it hatches for him, he discovers he has become a dragon rider.

Disappointing, for one who has read the book at least. My husband enjoyed it but hasn't read the book. I for one understand that movies can not follow the book completely, but this version went so far as to change major parts of the plot and leave out characters who come into play in the continuing story.

First, the good news. It was visually very pleasing. The scenes with the dragon flying were great. Even the sound effects were very cool. Jeremy Irons did do justice to the character of Brom.

But beyond that there was precious little character development and at least six or seven important characters were left out. Ok, leave out a couple but six or seven. And I can appreciate leaving out some of the locations they visit along their journey so they moved some characters, fine. But when they get to their destination, there is no explanation of the new people they meet or what's going on, it's like battle and done. You don't even learn that one of the characters you meet is a dwarf and what his name even is. Plus they completely change the way the battle is played out. They change the way the evil guys dies (no spoiler there, come on you know an evil guy dies). And they tell you things you're not supposed to find out about until the second book.

I had such high hopes for this movie. But can 106 minutes of movie (less than two hours) do justice to a 497 page book? No!!

Please read the book, it's excellent. Wait to watch the movie.

My favorite parts of the movie:

visually pleasing
sound effects
Brom
Rachel Weisz as the voice of Saphira

3 out of 5 stars.

Lauren's Tidbits

Johnny Depp and pirates like peas and carrots. Besides being in the Pirates of Caribbean franchise. He starred in Finding Neverland about J.M Barrie writing Peter Pan. Of course there's Captain Hook but he also plays pirates with the four boys he befriends in the movie. The movie is excellent but don't look into their lives beyond the movie. Mr. Barrie, plus I think two of the boys, end up committing suicide. How depressing. Anyway, my tidbit is that not one but two other actors from Pirates of the Caribbean star with Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland, Mackenzie Crook and Angus Barnett. What great names. Mackenzie plays Ragetti in Pirates, the humorous lunk who always losing his eye and Mr. Jaspers in Neverland, the usher trying desperately to answer Mr. Barrie's questions about whether the audience likes his plays. Angus plays Mullroy in Pirates the portly British officer who first meets Jack Sparrow trying to commandeer a ship and doesn't believe there is a actual Black Pearl and Mr. Reilly in Neverland, the actor who ends up playing Nana the dog in Peter Pan.

Review: The Holiday

Iris (Kate Winslet) and Amanda (Cameron Diaz) are alone and depressed at Christmas. They decide to switch houses to escape their lives. Iris heads to L.A. and Amanda to England and the general meeting of their perfect guys ensues.

This movie was not quite what I expected, a lot more intelligent dialogue and far less comedy than imagined. Still cute though, but kind of boring. Despite the boringness, there were some things I enjoyed. I love the character of Iris. All the actors are great in this movie. Watch out for Dustin Hoffman's cameo.

I also love the fact the Amanda's profession is as a editor for movie trailers and throughout the movie "the movie guy" narrates her life like a trailer. Lots of fun.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Jack Black's singing
Jude Law's crying
cameos
general chick-flickyness
life trailers

4 out of 5 stars.

December Movies

Here's a list of the movies I want to see in December. It's going to be a long month...

Definite must sees
The Nativity Story
Apocalypto
The Holiday
Charlotte's Web
Eragon
Night at the Museum
We are Marshall
Children of Men

Husband wants to see
The Good Shepherd
Rocky Balboa

Will possibly see, but probably not given all the other movies coming out
Pursuit of Happyness
Arthur and the Invisibles
Miss Potter
The Good German
Pan's Labyrinth

Review: Happy Feet

Mumble sets off to discover what has happened to all the fish after being shunned from the penguin colony for his lightness of foot.

Cute movie with a message. Great music, awesome animation. At one point I was confused as to whether the people in the movie were real or animated. I definitely know at one point they were real but there were also points where they seemed animated too. Crazy.

My favorite parts of the movie:

The Music
The Animation
Robin Williams, always great

4 out of 5 stars.

Trailer: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Review: Casino Royale

James Bond (Danial Craig) recieves double-o status and enters a high-stakes poker game to stop a financer of world terrorism.

Excellent movie all around. (As long as you don't mind a blond Bond, which I don't). I appreciate that the series has abadoned the cheesy-type movies they made with Pierce Brosnan, except for Goldeneye. I enjoyed Goldeneye. It reminds me of where the Batman series went before Batman Begins. The only slightly cheesy part in this movie is the unbelievable action, especially the crane sequence. However, I will give them the fact that it is a movie after all and action in general keeps getting bigger and crazier.

The dialogue between Vesper Lyd (Eva Green) and Bond is wonderful, especially during their first meeting on the bullet train. This movie also has the funniest torture scene. Probably the only funny torture seen ever.

Also, crashing Aston Martins, ouch. My dream car...

My favorite parts of the movie:

Refreshing humor
the poker game
the opening credits
Dame Judi Dench (M) is always wonderful
Aston Martins

And I must say Bond in his swim trunks, ow ;)

5 out of 5 stars.

Lauren's Tidbits

I just finished watching Full Metal Jacket starring Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, and Adam Baldwin. What a messed up movie. I must say that Vincent D'Onofrio is one of my least favorite actors, right under Steven Segal and Chuck Norris. He is a good actor (unlinke the other two) but all of his characters irritate me. He gained 70 pound for his role in the movie. A record just broken by Christian Bale (100 pounds from The Machinist to Batman Begins). R. Lee Emery, the drill instructor, also irritates me. He was hired to train the actor playing the drill instructor and won the role with his demostrations. (Spoiler alert: Thankfully they both bite the big one in this movie).

Trailer: Evan Almighty

Trailer: Bridge to Terabithia

I remember really enjoying this book as a 6th/7th grader.

Trailer: The Simpsons Movie

Trailer: Spiderman 3

Review: The Prestige

Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Bolden (Christian Bale) are two rival magicians in 19th century London.

Great mystery. Slightly confusing. The movie goes back and forth in time quite frequently, often without an obvious transition. Nevertheless, the plot twists and turns are wonderful. I definitely recommend this to anyone who likes figuring out where the plot of a movie is going to go next.

It reunites Batman Begins' stars Christian Bale and Michael Caine with director, Christopher Nolan. Plus, no movie would be complete without David Bowie, remember Labyrinth. (He's a trained mime. That explains so much.)

My favorite parts of the movie:

The secrets
The cast
Especially Andy Serkis, what a great character actor, got to give it up for Gollum

5 out of 5 stars.

Lauren's Tidbits

The Goldblums

There is a new professor in the Geography Department at NIU, David Goldblum, who is related to Jeff Goldblum (Independence Day, The Fly, Jurassic Park). I believe they are cousins. Jeff was coincidentally in the last movie I reviewed, Man of the Year. They even kind of look alike, in a nerdy scientist kind of way.

Review: Man of the Year

Comedian Tom Dobbs (Robin Williams) decides to run for president after an audience member of his talk show makes a flip comment that he should.

Very funny, especially if you enjoy Robin Williams and/or political humor. Besides the comedy extending from his underground run for president, the movie also tackles the more serious vein of the fraudulent electronic voting system employed in the election. The humor and seriousness came in bursts with the movie taking itself a litte too serious. I mean in a comedy I should not almost have a heart attack from fright. Seriously.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Robin Williams
His candidness with the press

4 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Guardian

Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is reassigned after losing his crew to teach A-school for Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers which includes swim champ Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher).

A good movie about the unheralded Coast Guard. The rescue scenes were exciting but the movie was a little too long at 2 hrs and 19 mins.

My favorite parts of the movie:
The second trip to the Navy bar
The old Coast Guard pictures in the credits

3 out of 5 stars.

Lauren's Tidbits

Actress Isabella Rossellini's (Death Becomes Her, Wyatt Earp) mother was Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca). Her first movie was with her mother, A Matter of Time.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow's (Shakespeare in Love, Sliding Doors) mother is Blythe Danner (Meet the Parents). Her first movie was Hook.

Isabella was on Ross' (David Schwimmer) "LIST" on Friends and starred with Gwyneth in The Pallbearer.

Lauren's Tidbits

Random movie trivia, anecdotes, and connections...

The Parent Trap: Joanna Barnes played Vicky, the young money-grabbing fiance, in the original 1961 version with Hayley Mills and Hayley Mills. (Remember the honey on the toes). She also played Vicki, Meridith's mom (the young money-grabbing fiance), in the 1998 version with Lindsey Lohan and Lindsey Lohan.

"You can call me Aunt Vicky/Vicki."

Trailer: Eragon

Review: Invincible

The true story of Vincent Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a Philadelphia Eagles fan who makes the team during open tryouts.

I love football and I love all the Disney-we overcame the odds-Sports Stories, Remember the Titans, The Rookie, Miracle... Hence, I really enjoyed Invincible. Good Dramady (Drama and Comedy) mixture. In fact, I wish it was a little longer. Anyway, good fun that gears me up for football season.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Mud Football
His love interest, Janet, is a Giants fan
His recovered fumble

4 out of 5 stars.

One is never enough, Part 2 (see I told you)

Walt Disney is filming Unnatural History about a faimly trapped in a History Museum overnight and the exhibits start coming to life. Sound Familiar??? Of course, it does because (say it with me now), One is never enough. I will admit though that Unnatural History is a far superior title to A Night at the Museum.

Why is one never enough?

Armageddon: Deep Impact

Dante's Peak: Volcano

National Treasure: Sahara

Now it's....

Beowulf and Grendel: Beowulf

At least this time, it's indie/art house versus mainstream... poor little indie flick.

The Nativity Story

Brave Project. First impressions look good. Check out at behind the scenes featurette at their website. Opens December 1, 2006 just in time for Christmas.

A Night at the Museum

This looks right up my alley. Very Toy Story, Indian in the Cupboard....except with Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Robin Williams, Dick Van Dyke and Mickey Rooney. Website

Review: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Ricky Bobby wants to go fast. He finds trouble when Jean Girard, the French Formula One driver, comes to America to race on the NASCAR circuit.

Good, classic fun with Will Ferrell. Not his best, but still enjoyable. His sons are hilarious and John C. Reilly (a guy you see in tons of movies but never know quite who he is) really stands out as Ricky Bobby's best friend, Cal. I love the cougar and be sure to stay for the credits. Oh, and keep an eye out for Andy Ricter and Molly Shannon.

My favorite parts of the movie:

Ricky Bobby's sons: Walker and Texas Ranger
the prayers to BABY Jesus
Karen the cougar
the credits

4 out of 5 stars

Children of Men Trailer

One generation from now, women are infertile, the youngest person on the planet just died, and the world is in chaos.

I love movies set in the future. Very intriguied by this one.

Movie Website

Wicked Animation

Both the Renaissance trailer below and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles trailer above have some pretty awesome animation. (For some reason the TMNT trailer doesn't have sound.)

If you would like to watch the TMNT trailer with sound, please find it here.

If you would like to watch the Renaissance trailer with better resolution, please find it here

TMNT Trailer

Renaissance Movie Trailer

Paris 2054. Ilona Tassueiv, a young and brilliant researcher is violently kidnapped. Avalon, a giant multinational corporation and her employer, wants her found at any cost. Dellenbach, Avalon’s CEO, has requested that Officer Bartholomew Karas, a hostage retrieval specialist and the most controversial cop in the force, be in charge of the case... Directed by Christian Volkman, voice cast includes: Daniel Craig, Romola Garai, Jonathan Pryce, Kevork Malikyan, Ian Holm & Catherine McCormack

Becca and Sir Anthony

News: Blond Bond

While we have yet to see Daniel Craig as the new Bond, James Bond, word has it a follow up is already in the works, tentatively called Bond 22.

Casino Royale, the newest Bond flick, opens Nov. 17.

News: Eragon

Eragon, book one in the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, is coming to theaters December 15th. I am a big fan, just finishing up the second book, Eldest, currently. They are very Lord of the Rings-ish but with a big emphasis on Dragons. I would definately recommend them. Looking forward to this one. Check out their website here.

Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Jack Sparrow, make that Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightley) team up again to search for a key and chest belonging to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy).

This movie was probably the one I was most looking forward to seeing this summer and it didn't disappoint. Despite an awkward beginning (most likely due to my expectation of the film), the rest was everything you want from a good piratey movie. Almost all of the old characters were back, many of whom switch roles, good, bad, sometimes it was hard to keep up. Lots of inside jokes stemming back to the last movie. Might want to refresh before seeing this one. Good story, good action, lots of humor, but beware that this is the second movie of three, so it has one killer of a cliffhanger ending. But breathe deeply knowing the next one is only one year away instead of three.

My favorite parts of the movie (just a few):

that the evil Beckett is played by Tom Hollander (Mr. Collins from Pride and Prejudice, poor Keira always has to deal with him ;)
what's happened to Commodore Norrington, Elizabeth Swan's former fiance
Elizabeth swordfighting
the undead monkey
the good/bad role switching
the cliffhanger ending

5 out of 5 stars

The Green Beast Rears Its Ugly Head

I am jealous. I freely admit it. Becca, a girl I have hung out with a couple of times (friend of a friend), is currently on a film set in California. She has an intership on the movie "Slipstream." It is written by, directed by, and stars SIR Anthony Hopkins, with the likes of John Turturro, Christian Slater, Micheal Clark Duncan, and Jeffery Tambor. Plus while learning all sorts of cool stuff about film making on set, she got to be an extra in one scene!!! What an awesome internship!!


Here is Becca learning about capturing live audio from sound mixer David Ronne.

Let's see, at my intership today, I got to scan a map of police districts. Fun.

My Rating System

I thought it might be beneficial to quantify my rating system.

0 stars - Horrible, I probably didn't even finish watching the movie.

1 star - Bad, would not recommend.

2 stars - It was ok. I survived it.

3 stars - Fun. Enjoyable. Would watch again later.

4 stars - Good. Might or might not own someday.

5 stars - Excellent. Will probably be buying this the day it comes out on DVD.

Review: Superman Returns

After five years, Superman (Brandon Routh) returns to Metropolis to find that Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is out of jail and Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on.

This has everything you would want from a superhero movie. Brandon Routh (who looks very much like Christopher Reeve) makes for a great heroic Superman and a cute, bumbling Clark Kent. The story and writing are spot on. This is the movie Bryan Singer abandoned Xmen 3 for and I think it payed off. I wish just a little bit more could have been resolved at the end but I also thought the ending went a little long. However, my perception might be slightly skewed because I had a little too much Pepsi during the movie.

My favorite parts of the movie:
Lex Luthor's evil plot
The token line "It's a bird, it's a plane...
Brandon Routh's performance
Lois Lane's son playing Heart and Soul on the piano with the evil henchmen

5 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Devil Wears Prada

Struggling to become a journalist, unfashionable Andy (Anne Hathaway) takes a job at Runway magazine, lorded over by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the most demanding boss imaginable.

This is just a fun movie. Meryl Streep is excellent as that character you just love to hate and Anne Hathaway goes from Casual Corner to Chanel. (Somehow she always seems to get makeovers in her movies).

My favorite parts of the movie:
Andy coming through on Miranda's most impossible request
Nigel (Stanley Tucci)

3 out of 5 stars.

News: Spiderman 3

Check out the teaser trailer for Spiderman 3.

Review: The Lake House

Alex and Kate begin a relationship through letters sent through the lake house's mailbox. However, Alex is living in 2004 and Kate is in 2006.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock are back together after starring in Speed (1994). I think they have a great chemistry in the this movie, even though I've always thought Keanu Reeves to be an awkward actor. The story in intriguing and who doesn't love movies involving time travel (even if it is through letters). They pull off the whole "conversation in the letters," which I think always works well. I thought it was a very enjoyable romantic drama, a genre you don't see much anymore.

My favorite parts of the movie:
the setting: Chicago
time traveling
their meeting in 2004

3 out of 5 stars.

Review: Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift

Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) faces jail or moving to Japan to live with his father. Once there, he finds an underground racing circuit whose special move is, what else, the Tokyo Drift.

Given that my expectations for this movie were extremely low, it was actually better that I expected. I might go far as to say that it was better than its predecessor Too Fast Too Furious. However, the original starring Vin Diesel is still the best in the series. The story was ok, but I did enjoy the fact that it was set in Japan and the differences the culture and place brought.

My favorite parts of the movie included:
Seeing Taran Noah Smith (the eldest Taylor boy from Home Improvement)
The cameo by Vin Diesel
The setting: Japan

2 out of 5 stars.


(Lightning McQueen and Doc from Cars also Drift. I believe they called it "turning right to go left.")

Review: Cars

Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) is a hot new rookie on the racing circiut. On his way to California for the tie breaker race, he finds himself in Radiator Springs, the town time, and most everyone else, forgot.

This movie was wonderful, another hit for Pixar. The story was great and the writing, ahhh, I love good writing. Whoever the writing team for Pixar is, they're amazing, always something for kids and adults. Also, a great voice cast including Paul Newman, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shaloub, John Ratzenberger...

Some of my favorite things about the movie include:
The backround rocks shaped like old car hoods
Frank
The line: "I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park."
John Ratzenberger poking fun at himself in the credits

5 out of 5 stars.

Review: X-Men:The Last Stand

The X-men franchise has always been enjoyable to me and this movie was no exception. I remember watching the cartoon as a kid with my brother, never got into the comic books, but loved the first two movies. I pretty much knew where the story for the third installment was going to go so I didn't have a problem with it like some did. I did think that the writing could have been better. The dialogue was way too saturated with those one liners that try get a laugh. C'mon, a few are ok but this was overkill. I really loved the beginning where you get to see a younger Charles Xavier and Eric Lencher. I heard Patrick Stewert and Ian McKellen wanted to make their computer enhanced appearances permanent. The special effects were great and Kelsey Grammer even pulled off a believalbe Beast. 4 out of 5 stars.

(Oh, and if you're sad that the series is over, don't be. Hugh Jackman has signed on to star in a Wolverine movie. Perhaps a prequel?)

Rrrr, me veggies!

Big Idea is making The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A Veggietales Movie and Universal Pictures is distributing. It's categorized as being in production on Universal's website and I couldn't find anything about it on Big Idea's site. The pirates are my favorite. Aye, aye captain Crunch. Hee he he he he.

Review: The DaVinci Code

After having read the book, I was very excited to see this movie. I must say they were fairly faithful to the book if you disreguard some of the ending and needed time cuts. However, if you have not read the book it is probably very hard to follow due to the large amounts of exposition and fast pace. The tone/mood at the beginning of the movie felt slightly akward to me but as the movie progressed it became less so. I enjoyed the characters Silas and Teabing portrayed by Paul Bettany and Ian McKellen, respectively. These characters were a stark contrast to the rather dull Sophie Neveu and Robert Langdon. I was also very intrigued by how they integrated different time periods and occurances in the same scene through an unusual fading in and out process. Overall, I enjoyed the film but felt the writers could have made some of the expostition more concise. 4 out of 5 stars.