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.