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.