Saturday, December 30, 2006

Night at the Museum

this one was really good!

ben stiller's this divorced dad who pretty much cant keep a job, but in order for his ex-wife to let him still see his kid, he has to be able to find a job and keep it. so he takes a post as the new night guard at the museum of natural history, only to learn that at night, everything in the museum comes alive - from a giant t-rex, to the animals, to teddy roosevelt, to all the miniture displays, a mummy, and attila the hun among others.

it was a cute and amusing movie - good for the whole family too!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Eragon

f you've seen any similar movie in this genre, you've already seen eragon - from a plot line similar to that of the LOTR trilogy, to Beastmaster, to any other fantasy movie, it's like all of them into one. my friend that im sort of seeing and i made WoW puns/jokes the entire movie - it was awesome! we were laughing sooo hard!

jeremy irons gave a good performance though!

it's entertaining if ya like the genre, but it's nothing you havent seen already.

oh by the way, eragon is the name of the boy that is destined to become the first in a new way of dragonriders and this is the first in a 3 part trilogy.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

TENACIOUS D AND THE PICK OF DESTINY

If you've heard their first CD or watched the HBO series, you'll know exactly what to expect and they make references to things you've heard/seen in both of those previous medias.

Basically, it starts out showing you JB (Jack Black) leaving his strict family as a teenager, and taking the wisdom of Ronnie James Dio, heads off to California in search of 'the one that will teach him the ways of Rock'. Once he gets out there several years later, he comes across a guitar god in the making - KG (Kyle Gass). They eventually form a bond after a rocky start and realize it was destiny for them to meet and form a band. On their way to becoming great, they notice that all the great bands used the same guitar pick and decide to do a little research into and learn that 'the pick of destiny' is really the tooth of satan with the power to give greatness to those that use it. they head off in search of this pick so that they can create their masterpiece - hilarity ensues. It also shows ya 'that fateful night' that they make reference to in their single 'Tribute'

Part of the movie is in musical form, the other half is just normal movie - the musical numbers are pretty funny though! And 90% of the music is new stuff by Tenacious D.

There's also a short little scene after the credits too, so don't miss that!

if ya like Tencious D, metal/rock, or a comedy, definately go see this one - it was pretty funny and the cameo's are pretty cool too - Meatloaf as JB's strict dad, Dave Grohl (Nirvana/Foo Fighters) as Satan, Ben Stiller and Tim Robbins also have funny cameo's also.

Casino Royale

Ive never been real big into james bond movies, but I *really* liked this one! it's not your typical bond movie - it's more like a prequel to the james bond series, although set in modern time - his only gadet really is his cell phone. he's pretty ruthless too. it was really good - if you like james bond movies you wont be disappointed and if ya like good action movies with a plot you'll like it too, even if you're like me and arent really a bond fan.

Over the Hedge

If you like animated films or are looking for a good movie to watch with your kids, be sure to check this one out. Also, if you're into Ben Folds, you'll love the soundtrack, as he did nearly every song you hear in the movie.

It starts out with us meeting RJ, a raccoon with a knack for stealing food, whether it be from campers, trash cans or vending machines. his antics go a bit too far when he attempts to steal a wagon full of junkfood from a bear, a week prior to his hibernation wake up call. the bear decides that instead of eating RJ right away, he'll give him 1 week to regather all the food that he lost. in his efforts to run away, RJ comes across a community of forest critters, such as a skunk, some hedgehogs, porcupines, a turtle and an ADD squirrel, who, just coming out of hibernation themselves, find a giant hedge built just outside their woods with an entire subdivision on the otherside. in an attempt to help them gather food faster, RJ uses them to get the items he needs to give to the bear to save his own skin, but in the process learns about family and having a home.

features the voices of Bruce Willis, William Shatner, Wanda Sykes, and Steve Carrell.

it was cute.

Borat

if you've ever watched Da Ali G Show then you're already familar with Sacha Baron Cohen's Kahzkstan journalist Borat.

In this mockumentory, Borat travels to New York City to learn about American culture and document it for his nation of Kahzkstan so that they may be able to use it to better themselves as a nation as a whole. While learning about cable tv, Borat finds an old rerun of Baywatch and falls instantly in love with Pamela Anderson and decides to take his documentary on the road, traveling across the country to California.

If you are Jewish and/or easily offended, this film is not for you. There are also several scenes of explict male nudity, so ladies, be warned!

Honestly though, this film is soooo wrong, it's funny - im not sure how else to put it! If you're not easily offended, be sure to check it out - you'll think it was worth the time and the laughs!

Saw III

do not see this movie if you have not seen the first 2, yet plan on seeing them sometime - you will ruin every twist there is in the first 2 movies since this one makes flashbacks to the 'behind the scenes' of the games in the first 2 movies.

trying not to give too much away for those that haven't seen the first yet, i liked the how they showed the development in the relationship between jigsaw and his 'apprentice.'

basically, this one starts off soon after the previous installment - jigsaw is on his death bed, struggling to stay alive, while having his apprentice monitor and string together the pieces of what may be his final game, which includes a man named jeff, full of revenge for those in the case of his young son being killed by a hit and run car accident - the college grad student that was driving the car, the witness that was too busy to testify and did nothing, and the judge that gave the driver a short sentence. jigsaw also has his apprentice kidnap an adulturous doctor who is forced to keep him alive long enough for the game to finish - the device he has her wearing is linked up to his heart rate monitor and if he dies, so does she. the 'twist' in my opinion is not quite so shocking...

personally, i thought the first 2 were better in terms of the story line - in this one, i could really care less about the game he had jeff playing for the majority of the movie, it was an interesting, thought-provoking game, but in all honesty, unlike the games in the first 2, this one just seemed like it was there, sure it makes sense at the end, but still...

this one is a lot more bloodier than the first 2 combined, ill admit that, especially in one scene, where if you can't handle the graphicness of medical shows, you'll be squirming in your seat the entire time.

The Break-Up

jennifer aniston and vince vaughan have been dating for 2 years and share a nice condo in chicago together. eventually things get so tense between them, they decide to split, however neither wants to give up the condo to the other. in the process of trying to sell the place and seek out other partners, they do whatever they can to make the other miserable. it wasnt as good or as funny as i had expected.

Nacho Libre

jack black is the only non-hispanic in this movie from nickelodeon studios and the guy that made napoleon dynamite. he's this priest at an orphanage who has a deep desire to be wrestling champion. it had it's moments, but you can tell it's trying too much to be like napoleon dynamite - same type of movie, but it just doesnt work this time around.

School for Scoundrels

john heder and billy bob thorton. heder is basically a loser kind of guy, unable to talk to girls and already having 2 of his 'big brother' kids request another brother and working as a meter maid. a coworker tells him about this secret class that's supposed to help his confidence so he checks it out - thorton's the big hotshot professor. seeing the progress heder is having makes thorton decide to raise the stakes, as is rumored for him to single out the top person of each class, and he decides to go after the girl heder has been trying to build up the confidence to ask out. it was pretty funny in my opinion - a lot of slapstick comedy, but it was funny.

Open Season

it's a cute animated film about about a bear that was raised by a park ranger from birth. he's never been out in the wild before until a wild buck starts creating chaos in his life and his owner's forced to set him into the wild just days before open season begins. after having a rocky start with the rest of the forest animals, they all band together to fight off the hunters, come opening day. it's also amusing to see how everyone abuses the rabbits as nature's all purpose animal! and just picutre a beaver with a chainsaw! not as good as some animated movies, but it was cute.

Employee of the Month

dane cook, dax shephard and jessica simpson. it's a cute comedy where the slacker underdog tries to beat the champ in hopes of coming out on top and winning the girl. very typical and very predictable. it was pretty good for a light-hearted comedy tho. even zudo said it was better than he expected it to be.

The Grudge 2

if you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one too. if you thought the original sucked, you still might like this one. from what i have heard everyone say, this sequal is better than the original and even if you havent seen the first one, you're basically given a brief summary in the first few minutes.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

It's supposed to be the prequel to the original, giving us an indepth look at how leatherface came to be the killer that he is. You see him abandoned as a baby right after he was born and shows him develop into the figure we all know him to be. it also shows you more about the deranged family too. lots of blood, lots of gore, cannibalism, roaring chainsaws (no really, they're super loud!) and more are in this film. i watched about a min of the goriest part of the movie and was completely grossed out. we had one girl, opening weekend, come running out of the theater screaming, crying, and dragging her boyfriend out of the building with her. view at your own risk.

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

Benchwarmers

Napoleon Dynamite, Rob Schneider, and David Spade. Throw in some Jon Lovitz and ya got a pretty entertaining movie.

Out of the 3 nerds, Rob's the only one that has talent when it comes to baseball - the Spade and Napoleon can't even catch let alone hit the ball. They see some nerd kids getting picked on by the local little team and challenge for the field. they win and nerds old and young take notice at them sticking up for them against the bullies and jocks - lovitz is a now rich nerd who decides to hold a tournement for all the area little league teams to challenge the 3 adult nerds and the winner gets a brand new stadium.

it was entertaining - we all laughed lots.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

V for Vendetta

It was very very good yet very political.

V (Hugo Weaving) is a terrorist in future england who runs around in black cape and robert fausk mask. On Nov the 5th he rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) right before he demolishes a well known british monument and the next day takes over the BNT (british network television) and declares for everyone to join him outside parliment on the next Nov 5th, to see parliment fall. The next year follows his relationship with Evey as well as the governments attempts to capture them and a detective trying to figure out who V is and why he is doing this.

There's a lot of Big Brother, WWII, and Count of Monte Cristo references and parallels as well. A lot of it foreshadows the possible results of the war on terror going on know as well.

It was also directed by the Wachowski Brothers, who did the Matrix Trilogy. If you like action, drama, or things getting blown up it's definately worth seeing.

Eight Below

Paul Walker is the owner of a sleddog team in Anartica and guides those who come down to visit the south pole. During the last hike of the season a major storm appears and him and the visiting geologist barely make it back to the control center alive. Being told they'd come right back for his dogs, they rush em out to the main base, however the storm has picked up and there's no way for them to get back until next season.

Apparently it's based on a true story that actually happened 13 years ago, in which the 8 dogs were on their own for over 200 days before their owner could make it back down to them.

It reminded me of Homeward Bound, but with out the animal voiceovers with a mix of Cool Runnings or any other Disney movie that's based on a true story. It was sad too in some parts. Take the kids, you'll enjoy it somewhat.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Hoodwinked

It starts out at the part where little red riding hood gets to grannys house and has a confrontation with the wolf. right as he's about to get her granny pops out of the closet, all tied up and a crazy woodsman comes crashing thru the window, axe in hand!

the rest is treated as a crime story - each of the characters tells their side of the story to the cops and theres also a bigger mystery - someone's been stealing all the forest goodie recipes and putting all the goodie makers in the forest out of business! the cops hope that maybe the goodie thief is in their midst.

My boyfriend was entertained cause of the fact that the guy that played Puddy in Seinfied and Kronch in Emperor's New Groove was the voice of the Wolf (Emperor's new grove is his one of his favorite movies).

Definately a kids movie, but had the same affect as Shrek did - slapstick comedy for kids, subtle humor and jokes that only adults would get. It was cute though. I'd recommend it, especially for those of ya with kids.