Law Abiding Citizen

It's been quite some time since I've written a movie review...

Often times my mom will come home from a movie and I'll ask how it was only to hear "It was fine"; never good or bad, always fine.  I've started making her give film a rating and asking if she would recommend the film. Well, I remember back when Law Abiding Citizen came out in the theater, she came home and said "It was a really good movie!", without my even asking.  Then last week when she found out it was on DVD she told me I needed to get it.
I logged onto Netflix and added it to the top of my Q and got it before the weeks end.

In short, the movie is about a man, Clyde, who's family is murdered in front of him, within the first 3 minutes of the movie.  He's ends up frustrated with the justice system when the men who did it end up, basically getting off. The rest of the film goes on to follow him as he gets his revenge, not only on the man who killed his family, but every one who was involved in the case, including the entire city and their justice system.

This movie was much different than I expected.  I thought I knew what was going to happen, but was completely wrong!  I didn't completely care for the ending because I felt it could have ended a couple different ways and been a better movie because of it.  It's hard not to spoil it though.

Overall, I quite enjoyed the movie; I thought it was captivating and well thought out.  It held my interest and, while it had a bit of a Saw-ish feel to it, it wasn't what I'd call a horror film.  It was different than most movies and it doesn't require much thought into a back story or a deeper story; it's all laid out for you and explained very well.  You must realize though, that this is a movie because there are a few far-fetched things that happen.  I would recommend it because it is different than whats out now-a-days, which is always a good thing!

Overall Grade: A- ~ Good Film, good story, and while it could have ended a bit better, or differently, it was still entertaining.

Warnings for: gore, violence, torture and language.

Movie Review - The Watchmen

I'm generally pretty open to Sci-Fi; Superheroes, total destruction of a city, talking ducks, cities in space, etc. .. hell, I just finished watching all of the Star Wars movies by choice, so obviously I'm opened minded.



Where to even begin... Let me rewind back 2 hours and 43 minutes to the beginning of this movie.



The Watchmen, as best I could keep my eyes open, is about a society in the 1980's where costumed superheroes once walked the streets like you and I do today; now they have basically been forced into 'retirement'.  The movie begins with a murder of one of their own and goes on to show the investigation of said murder, by superheroes new and old.  As many past superheroes have wound up dead, Rorschach (one of the many masked superheroes) has a theory that someone wants them all dead.  During all of this it flashes in and out of some political stories as the USA is tracking the threat of nuclear war with the Soviet Union on a Doomsday Clock.  


Beyond all of that I'm not sure what else there is.  I hated this movie.  I walked into the theater completely crabby to begin with and left wanting to put a gun in my mouth!  The Watchmen never actually grabbed my attention; I was bored, antsy, and 100% underwhelmed.  Because this movie is based off a comic book I can see someone saying "but Ang, you've never read the comic, so you just don't get it"  Maybe true, I haven't, so maybe I don't.  That being said, I have never read Batman, Superman, X-Men, or any other comic book, and I love those movies!  I think the point is to tell the story so someone like myself, who hasn't read a line of the comic, can still watch and appreciate it, all the while keeping it real for those comic book nerds.  


The only 2 things that kept me going was a) Malin Akerman and 2) the fact that there were at least 2 hours [of a 2 hour and 43 minute movie] of blue penis of which I knew the 2 guys I was with would have something to say.  Jeff kept uttering afterwards something along the lines of If the dude has omni powers, he could at least make a loin cloth!  You'd have to see the movie to understand... but I wouldn't suggest it.  


$55.7 Million in it's first weekend has made The Watchmen the biggest film opening of 2009, keeping in mind it was the only new release this weekend and it cost $150 Million to make.  It still has a long way to go before they profit... hopefully everyone will read this blog and NOT go see it!


I'm just a girl sitting here in Minnesota; my opinion is just that, my opinion, but I will say that I went with 4 people to see this movie and none of us liked it.  Some of the most entertaining parts of being in the theater were: finishing a huge tub of popcorn between 2 of us, Jeff sucking on his Gatorade bottle and making obnoxious noises, and Jeff's phone falling out of his pocket and watching him try to find it.  We couldn't get out of the theater fast enough... did I mention it's almost 3 hours long?




Grade: D+ (would be an F if it weren't for the cute girl in it)
Warnings: Nudity, Violence, Sexual Content... and I don't recall if language was an issue or not.

Random v.9.4

I seen two movies this weekend: Taken and Slumdog Millionaire.  My short movie reviews:
Taken - Overall, I enjoyed this movie.  I was excited to see it because the previews made it look like a different kind of story... I was ready for a change.  The movie is about a guy (Liam Neeson, who I've learned I am not a big fan of) whose daughter has been taken, and he sets out on a quest to find her.  The movie is full of action and some over the top fighting scenes.  It definitely kept me interested to the end although somewhere in the middle I felt it got a bit fake with all the skills this guy had and used.  I know movies force you to use your imagination and sometimes step outside of the box in the way you think... but I found myself thinking Ok, Ok... we know he can hurt people... let's move on.  In my opinion it just got a bit unrealistic.  In the end I enjoyed the movie but didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.  Like I said, lots of action and it keeps you interested; what more can you ask for?

Slumdog Millionaire - I also enjoyed this movie.  If you don't know, Slumdog Millionaire is about a kid who goes on to India's version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.  He grew up in the slums, so no one believes he should know anything enough to answer even a few questions on the show... the movie is full of flashbacks explaining what happened to him in his life that he was able to, ironically, know the answer to the questions he was being asked.  It pretty entertaining and, in some spots, quite disturbing.  I knew all of that going into the movie, so that I was expecting; I did not know that there was a bit of a love story behind it as well.  I'm not huge on love stories in movies, so I was a bit taken back by that... it still remained to be a good movie though.  I felt the excitement of the movie dwindled a bit as it progressed, not so much that they could have wrapped it up quicker, just left a bit to be desired.  Although during that point it was more of his adult life and, as is the case in real life, being an adult is a lot less exciting/adventurous than being a child.  Overall, it was a good movie and kept me interested to see how it ended.  The story was well thought out and the flashbacks provided well enough information to truly get a feel for the lives of these kids.  I enjoyed it.

**I've begun following a new blog: Denise.  Since reading on a semi-regular basis and her telling me that she is also doing a Project 365 blog, I've come to discover that there is a way to change the background of a blog, similar to that of, say, Myspace.  Turns out there are a lot of sites out there for this!  It certainly makes me happy as I've been struggling with trying to match background colors to the banners I design and usually end up walking away feeling like it's lacking something.  Check out this site, they have a lot and it's super easy to install them!  Terri, they have a Pink Ribbon design and Renee, they have tons that have a scrap book look to them (let me know if you need help)!!**

**A shower tip: If you have a mirror in your shower and you find it always getting fogged up (even the ones that claim to be fog free eventually will fog up), take a little bit of soap (shower gel, shampoo, bar soap, etc.) and rub it over the mirror... BAM!  Fog free.**

**I scrap booked this weekend... it was so relaxing and enjoyable... I'll be posting pictures and such soon showing the progress.  I have to pick up some supplies in order to finish them!**

Happy Monday everyone!

Gran Torino - Movie Review

When I first briefly heard about this movie, I had absolutely no interest in seeing it.  I've never been one to see that Clint Eastwood is in a movie and rush to go see it... after just searching for Clint Eastwood it occurred to me that I have, in fact, never seen a single movie he has stared in, directed, or produced (though I do have Million Dollar Baby on my Netflix Q).
Over the weekend Dana posted a blog talking about this movie and, while her review recommended seeing it, I still had little to no interest, it just wasn't something that sounded like anything I'd enjoy.

It was Sunday afternoon, Steve and I were thinking of ways to kill the day, he suggested Gran Torino, I thought Meh... why not.  We get to the theater pretty early and make our way in... thank goodness we did too, cause that place filled up quick!

Gran Torino, without spoiling it, is about a Korean War Veteran who lives in, what used to be, a white neighborhood where white is now the minority. The movie begins at the funeral of his wife; after his wife dies, his children begin to try and convince him to move out of the house/neighborhood and into a retirement community.  He is a stubborn old man and is very set in his ways, so he refuses.  The movie goes on to show his struggles with the Hmong family next door (who's son tried to steal his mint 1972 Gran Torino by way of gang initiation) and pretty much the entire Hmong/Asian community.  There are a lot of racial slurs and quite a bit of humor wrapped around the entire movie.  In my opinion, its easy to get past the racial remarks because it is the character, it wouldn't be the same movie without them.
I, at one point, found myself completely engulfed in this film.  I generally sit back and enjoy movies just fine, but never really lose myself in them... this was not the case with Gran Torino.  I was in it.  I was into it.  I was taken by it.

I struggle to find the right words; it's not really a feel-good movie, and it's not really a lesson-learned type of film... but in the same regard, it is both.  I left feeling like that was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time and I bet you will too!

I give Gran Torino a big fat A+ on the elaborate scale that I rank movies on.  I do warn against the racism, and will say that there is violence, gang violence and some of a sexual nature - be forewarned.  It's a real easy story for anyone to follow and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments for anyone to enjoy.  Not only do I recommend you see this movie... I HIGHLY recommend you see it, it's worth the extra money you'll spend at the theater to go enjoy it now!

Movie Review: Wall-E

When I first watched the trailer for this movie, I knew I had to see it.  Wall-E closely resembled Johnny Number 5 from the movie Short Circuit, as a kid I loved the movie!

All in all I give the movie a big A+... but any Disney/Pixar movie is a sure sale for me.

A little about it and why I liked it so much.  Basically the movie in a nutshell is about Wall-E, a trash compactor, who remains on Earth after all the humans have been sent into space; the humans have filled the Earth with trash and it is no long inhabitable.  Wall-E rolls around with his little bug friend and compacts trash while he collects little things he wants to save and spare parts for himself.  One day there is a EVE probe put on Earth from the Humans ship to search for any signs of life to prove Earth is capable of supporting life.  Wall-E and EVE become friends and he shows her the plant he found one day...
It goes further into EVE being picked up by the humans ship with proof of photosynthesis and the humans (who have become extremely fat, lazy, and brainwashed) try to determine if they should and can return to Earth.

I'll save the little details because it's just such a cute movie.  There is not a lot of talking in the movie, especially in the beginning, but it's made up for with robot noises and plain curiosity.  I love how they built on the relationship between Wall-E and EVE, with no talking.  I just think all of these Pixar movies are put together with such creativity and thought... it's amazing to me.  This movie fits in with those standards and I would recommend it to any and all of you, especially if you have kids!

What Would You Do With a Brain if You Had One?

So we went to see Wicked last night and, just like the first time, I was blown away.  Tears in my eyes, chills up my spine... all over tingling.  I don't want to ruin the story for those who want to see or read it, so I won't talk about it, other than saying I had a wonderful night.
The group of us who went:

This morning, as I type, I am watching The Wizard of Oz... see, Wicked really changes how to view the rest of the story; I wanted to watch while it was still fresh in my head.  As I sit here watching this movie, not only do I find myself picking up on new things that I never understood as a child, but I'm also remembering all sorts of things from my childhood.
I remember this movie used to be on TV once a year and it was a huge event, at my house anyhow.  We would all sit down and watch it together.  I, like all little girls, loved the Ruby Slippers.  I went to Washington DC a couple years ago and was able to see one of the actual pairs of Ruby Slippers Judy Garland wore in the filming of the movie.  That was such a treat for me :)
I loved singing along to all the songs (still do), especially the beginning lines when Lion sings... If I were King of the Forrrrreeeeeesssttt... Follow the Yellow Brick Road, We're Off to See The Wizard... I love them all.

I have always loved the scene when Dorothy walks out of her house and everything is in color, the poppies, the Horse of a different color - such vivid colors throughout the entire movie!  I just absolutely love watching this movie and really could never get sick of it.  I always get tears in my eyes at the end when she must say good-bye to everyone :(

Watching it now... after seeing Wicked, I still love all this stuff, but I know a lot more about whats going on than I did before.  Just makes me feel so good inside watching it!

Remember... There's No Place Like Home.

Star Wars: Episode VI and Episode I

I watched 2 Star Wars Movies this weekend; Episode VI: Return of The Jedi and Episode I: The Phantom Menace


Being that I'm doing 2 movies here, I'm going to try and keep this short.
Let me be honest right off the bat; I was taking pulls straight from the (wine) bottle each night... that is not uncommon.  I was also surrounded by people who were chatting/giggling, pretty much the entire time.

Friday night we watched Return of The Jedi.
I was disappointed with the fact that Jabba the Hutt was killed so easily and quickly.  I always thought he played a larger role in these movies.
As Luke goes to see Yoda again, I think Yoda is just laying down to go to sleep... turns out he dies!  I don't get how he can be 800 years old, but not make it to 801.
It never crossed my mind that Luke and Leia could be related.. but then again, I'm not sure how well I've been following the stories here.
Ewoks are strange little things, but their babies are fricken ADORABLE!
The end, at the party, it was brought to my attention that in the original movie the ghost of Anakin used to be an older man but was changed when they were making the newer films; my friends didn't seem too happy about this.
I liked this movie; I followed it, it made sense, it ended.

Saturday night we watched The Phantom Menace.  Things from this night are a little blurry... I still have the movie and may watch it again as I got bored, tipsy, and stopped paying attention towards the end.
First let me say that I like Jar Jar Binks - I'd rather have dinner with him than Chewbacca!  Although he is kind of annoying, at least I can understand him and he's a lot better looking ;)
Just before starting to write this I went and read the synopsis to see how much I actually remembered; not a whole lot.  I pretty much stopped follow the story after the podrace.  I picked up on a few things here and there as we continued to watch... but it's all confusing.
There is no point in even talking about any of it... just a big ball of confusion. Although I do know that Anakin has more metaclorines in his blood than Yoda does!!  How's that for impressive?

anyhow, I shall leave you with these final words:
May the Force be with you...

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back

Two down, Four (I think) to go.  

I watched Episode V this past weekend and left feeling pretty confused.  Not so much the actual story, but the places and people were mixing in my mind.  As I sat here preparing to write - I decided I should read a quick page to refresh my memory and maybe understand a little bit better.  The problem I kept having when trying to think about the plot was the damn movie Space Balls; we watched Space Balls right after Episode V.  Jeff and Steve thought I was ready for it.  I think it was a bad idea for the simple fact that I had a hard time remembering which things happened in which movie.  Didn't help that I was drinking wine and extremely tired during both movies.  

After reading the recap, I'm a little bit more confused by the people and places, but definitely understand the story better.  They sure do jump around a lot in those movies... one ship to another, one world to another - I don't expect that anyone reading this is a huge ... ummm... Star Wars follower (is there a name for Star Wars geeks?  Like Trekies or whatever?) but I would be curious if there is a website with a very simple child like explanation of the worlds and places within these movies.  I'm just lost by it all.  I'm also having trouble remembering what all the people are called and which side they belong to.  I know the dudes in White are on the dark side (right?) - couldn't tell you what they are called though.  The thing that I notice is that generally when the not-so-main characters are on screen they are also on screen with a leading man/woman and I can tell if they are good or bad.  I'll get there eventually.

I was also introduced to Jedi Master, Yoda, in this movie.  What a creepy little dude that is!  I fully understand that he speaks backwards and I can completely put it together to understand what he is saying when he does it... HOWEVER, I cannot understand what he is saying when he talks!  It's like he is drunk and mumbling; I get like every 4 words and have to try to make sense of it myself.  Strange thing is I understand every word when he talks backwards.

(I'll tell ya one thing... this give whole new meaning and an absolute understanding to the words "Jedi Janie"!!!! ...and people wonder why I watch Big Brother)

My last thoughts on this movie; I was absolutely disappointed by the build up of "I am your father" my entire life... only to be let-down when actually seeing it for the first time.  The lack of emotion, the lack of shock... I always visualized that scene to be huge and emotional - I felt nothing but disappointment.  Maybe it was Tommy Boy that built it up so much for me...

oh... I still hate Chewbacca and his annoying cries and R2-D2 and I are falling in love. :)

All of this being said, I am sticking to my plan and I will continue to watch all of the Star Wars movies.  I have the next at my house right now.  You can expect another confused blog soon, I'm sure.  

I am enjoying them; I just think I'll need to watch them all again eventually.

Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope

As I sit here, on my unwanted day off, just having finished watching my first ever 2 hours and 5 minutes of any Star Wars movie... I'm kind of blown away!  

Thats the thing I love about this blog... I can begin writing, save it, and post it anytime I want...

After I got home from the doctor I debated going into work.. but then I decided it wasn't worth it to drive 45 minutes there, work for 3 hours, and drive 45 minutes back.  This injury has made it very uncomfortable to drive and sit in a car.

I thought I should finally get around to watching this Star Wars movie.  Little known fact about me: I've never seen any of the Star Wars flicks... and according to some of the highly respected people I know, that makes me un-American.  I hadn't watched any Indiana Jones movie until this summer.  There are a few others that I need to see to become a real American... or so they say.

I honestly don't even know what to say about the movie (Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope).  I'm quite honestly anxious to continue watching them to see where this goes.  I don't feel a super strong bond with any of the characters - though I do have some opinions.  My biggest annoyance is that damn furry thing... Chewbacca... the noise that comes out of that thing is enough to make you want to turn the movie off.  I did like the little droids though... oh, look at me using movie terms!  My heart actually dropped when R2-D2 was destroyed... I just wish I could understand him - I have faith he will be back though ;)

I felt a certain pressure to understand and become fully knowledgeable on the workings of the places in the movie.. but after watching for a bit I decided that it just wasn't necessary and I should sit back, watch, and either enjoy or hate the movie.  I think it helps that I've had 26 years listening to people talk about Star Wars, so I felt somewhat familiar with the names, places, and things mentioned.

I don't know that I can say I loved it, but I definitely didn't hate it.  I have the next episode (Star Wars: Episode V: Empire Strikes Back) sitting at my house now, hopefully I will get that watched this weekend.  I'm going to try and take it easy for a week or so, in hopes to heal myself a bit, it will give me good opportunity to watch a few movies :).  

I'll post again after I watch the next one... 

... May the Force Be With You.

update/thoughts/movie reviews

update on my head... Thursday was my first full day off medication and I felt OK, my head hurt that day, but I took something and it actually helped for once. Thursday night I felt GREAT! Like I was back to normal for the first time in a week!!!!
Friday was even better... woke up feeling like myself, a little tired, but normal. The whole day was great!! no headache... not even a sign of one. YAY!
Saturday I woke up with a headache and it continued on most all of the day. I finally gave in and took something and it helped for the rest of the night.
Yesterday (Sunday) I woke up feeling pretty normal, but I spent all of my day cleaning and running errands, so I had kind of a wave of headaches, none lasting too long, but when they were there; they were intense! I chalk it up to cleaning, doing lots of bending over and fast moving... things that I really hadn't been doing much of over the past week. Also, I can't imagine that all the medication of the pill is out of my body yet anyhow.. so some of this weekend has to be attributed to that.
Today... I feel ok. I'm tried, like abnormally tired for a work day. I can feel a headache in the works, pretty sure I'm going to take something to stop it dead in it's tracks.

On a separate note:
Did anyone hear about Paris Hilton going back to jail?
That was a trick question... if you didn't hear about it you shouldn't even have the technology to be reading this blog because you live under a fricken ROCK!
I have a theory about this... anyone notice how Paris had not been talked about much in the past few months? Well I heard something on the radio that the media was testing the public on our obsession with Paris. They were intentionally not covering her life to see if anyone cared; no one did.
This weekend was the premiere of the newest season of The Simple Life; isn't it ironic that Paris also got out of jail and went back to jail just before said premiere?
You'll see this happen a lot in the celebrity world.... if you pay attention. Usually an actor or singer will generally get into some sort of trouble (since planting a tree doesn't make front page news) to get their name out there.. that way when you hear that their movie/album is dropping, you'll remember that you want to see/hear it. Start paying attention; you'll notice.

I'm curious to hear thoughts on the finale of The Sopranos. The radio this morning said it was quite disappointing. anyone agree?
Personally, I've never watched an episode (don't have HBO), but I've been thinking of Netflixing it, from Season 1... It would mean giving up my summer though (cause I'm sure once I started I wouldn't be able to stop).. and I've already got a summer addiction (Big Brother) that I will be feeding. Is it possible to have 2 addictions? I guess it depends how badly my friends and family want to see me this summer.... no bar, no Twins games, no travel, no bonfires, no lakes, no exercise... (well, I suppose I could take my laptop to the gym and while traveling); I think you get my point.
Thoughts? Is it worth netflixing?

Some movie reviews:
Knocked Up Grade: A++
This could be the "it" movie of the summer!! I have NOTHING but good things to say; I laughed soooo hard!!! Keep in mind, the reviews say "If you liked The 40 Year Old Virgin, you'll love this movie"; that is a very accurate statement! If you didn't like that movie, you will feel the same about this one!
Personally, I love both... some of the stuff they say and do.. HILARIOUS! It's about a girl who has a one night stand (with kind of a loser) and gets 'knocked up', they try to make it work and basically the movie tracks that story.
Highly recommended, only if you have a good sense of humor!!

Oceans Thirteen Grade: B
I am a HUGE fan of the casting in these movies... from Oceans Eleven up til now they have kept the originals and that is what counts! George, Brad and Matt are just so much fun together... I'd like to know them in real life... what a hoot!
I graded this movie "B", because while it was above average in my book, you can only make so many sequels and have them remain of good quality and story. This was not as good as the first, but it's wasn't as bad as the third installment of Pirates that I had to sit through!! I can't see them going into an Oceans Fourteen, and if they do it will be a stretch in the lines of a story.
I can't really tell too much of what the story is about because the Oceans movies tend to have twists and turns that you don't see coming. Basically the group gets back together for another heist... back in Vegas.

So, I have a lot of work to do, and I've been trying to do it in between typing this blog... but I just have to wrap this up now; can't do both I guess!
I really hope I covered everything I wanted to. I felt like I had a lot to blog about!

blog per request...

Randomness....

Has anyone else noticed how the saying "Hope all is well" has become so popular that it has pretty much lost all meaning?

Facebook- I joined... I'm learning... I prefer myspace, for the most part. The one really cool thing that facebook allows you to do is "tag photos", which means that if Sarah Joe has a picture of her and I posted in one of her albums, she can 'tag' my face in it and people would be linked to it through my profile. That way I don't have to post the picture as well... I'm sure that saves a lot of bandwidth on the server.. .smart cookies on that one.
How do we get Tom to figure this out and make it available on myspace?

Movie Review-
Speaking Of Sex Grade: D-/F+
Horrible movie... I added it to my Q on Netflix, only because it had the word sex in it and I think most of you can associate me with 'sex' one way or another. Even if we've never had it... you know I talk about it and whatever else...
So this movie is about some dumb chick who is having problems with her husband and ends up having an affair with her therapist. Then they try to take him to court for taking advantage of her...
are you bored yet? It's a pretty cheesy movie and the acting is nothing to even mention.
Jay Mohr is in it... and I like him normally...
Bill Murray is in it too... bad choice for him to take a part.
Other than that... my advice is: DON'T waste your time!

Movie Review pt. 2-
Shrek 3 Grade: A+
If you liked the first 2 Shrek movies... you will LOVE this one! Same cast, which is great because if they changed anybody it just wouldn't be the same! There are 2 parts that stick out in my head as the 'fall on the floor laughing' parts... they don't really give anything away... so keep reading.
1. When Puss and Boots makes the 'cute little kitty' face, but forgets it's Donkey's body!
2. When Little Red Riding Hood gets mid-evil on their asses... great choice of music at that part!
and really... do I need to say anything more about this movie; it's Shrek, You'll love it!

Movie Review pt. 3-
The Holiday Grade: A
Great cast, although if I am being honest... I was a bit worried about Jack Black playing a possible love interest in this one. I haven't been a big fan of Romantic comedies as of late, but I like C. Diaz, so I wanted to see this one. I was really very impressed. It's light and fun and really just makes you feel good.
If you don't know... in the movie 2 women switch homes (one in USA, one in Europe) for a month and they both end up making friends with the people around their new homes. There is a love story here but I won't give the details of that. I wasn't expecting to walk away from this movie with a smile on my face... but I think I did!
I guess I don't really know why... but this wasn't you typical romantic comedy... it was actually good. If you like them, you'll love this. If you hate them, you might like this one.
Give it a shot either way... if nothing else just stare at Cameron the whole time; hell, why not?!

More randomness...
don't forget: "Click it or Ticket"
also, remember... 8 is great.

I feel a little better today; I've had a headache since Thursday, I've been sleeping like hell since Thursday... I hosted a shower yesterday and I am still exhausted today.

Big Brother starts in July... prepare to never see or hear from me until that is over.

I have nothing else to say... what am I supposed to blog about? anyone out there have any thing to say?

oh yeah, Janas- subscribe to my blog, so i don't have to post a bulletin telling you there is something to read!

Multiple Reviews ~ Quick Like

OK- So I am a member of Netflix, and I wanted to give a quick review of some of the movies I've rented so far.
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 2005 Grade: F ~ not a good movie at all!  I don't mind SciFi at all, but this movie was just bad from the beginning.  I ended up falling asleep during it and turned it off when it woke me up with loud noises... I highly recommend you stay away from this one!
Four Brothers, 2005, Grade A- ~ I thought this movie was really good.  Good action, you actually care about what happens to the characters.  It's a TINY bit hard to follow because they use so many different names and never let you meet the character long enough to link the face and name, however, it all comes together in the end.  This movie has violence and language in it... so stay away if you don't like either of those things.
Two for the Money, 2005 Grade C- ~ This was an okay movie.  I was expecting something a lot different; in the end I felt like this movie was very predictable in the end and just ended up being something to watch.  If you like gambling movies and movies about football (both of which I normally enjoy), you might like this movie, but then again, you might not!  If you have netflix or blockbuster online, you might add this to your Q, but don't feel like it's one you need to get out there and get today!
In Her Shoes, 2005 Grade B+ ~ I was expecting a lot more from this movie.  I thought it was going to be a chick flick all the way, and in a sense it was, but it wasn't as 'fun' as I was hoping.  I talked with my aunt about this one and she LOVED this movie, the only difference we could come up with as to why she did and I didn't was because she has 2 sisters.  The movie is about 2 sisters and how they see things differently and how they live.  It was too long in my opinion, they could have cut a lot out and ended it much sooner!  An alright movie, but FAR from my favorite.
Ice Age 2: The Meltdown & Cars Grade A ~ I love most all Disney/Pixar movies... these were no different.  If you like Monsters Inc and movies like that, see these.  If you have kids... watch these with them!  There is always enough child AND adult humor in these movies to keep everyone watching!  Highly Recommended!
Well guys, That's all I have time for today... I'll post another blog once I get some more movies under my belt.  And as always, I will surely post if there is a 'must see' movie out there!
I've got Hollywoodland coming in the mail either today or tomorrow... I'm excited for that one.
until next time...
~Ang, your resident movie critic

Alpha Dog

I went to see the movie Alpha Dog on Sunday.  I'd like to give my opinion on it, for all of you.
First of all I'd rate the movie a B+/A-
It's really hard to rate, and I've waiting this long to blog about it for a reason.  Let me explain:
First of all, I went to see this movie thinking it was just a movie, I watched, I enjoyed.. Hell, I even respected Justin Timberlake as being an actor.  At the end of this movie there were those little blocks of text saying "Johnny Truelove is now.... ..... ....." and telling where everyone is now and what happened to them once the 'movie' part of the story stops.  So as I'm watching the movie and once its over, I decide that I enjoyed it, but wanted to research the story more... it just seemed like it was a true story and I wanted to know for sure.
So I figured out that this movie is based on actual events... which makes me like it in a different way.  It's a lot different when you know this stuff actually happened.  Kind of like The Blair Witch Project, now I do understand that this movie SUCKED... but hear me out.  I went to see that movie at the Uptown Theater when it was first released, there was no hype, no one had heard of it... it was a true story.  Now if you think back to that movie... what if you were lead to believe that those things actually happened?  It would probably change your opinion on the movie, it wouldn't suck as bad.  Well clearly I came to find out that it was not a true story, so I've hated it ever since.
My point is that a movie being 'inspired by actual events' or 'based on a true story' as opposed to being just that, 'a movie' can easily change the way you view it.
Alpha Dog is based on actual events, what a crazy story.  It's kind of like the saying "it's all fun and games until someone loses an eye".  I enjoy most all movies that deal with gangs or drugs and/or violence, this movie touched on most of those things in it's own way.  It is about a group of guys, their 'leader' is a mid-level drug dealer; they have money and they have drugs.  One guy owes the 'leader' (Johnny Truelove, played by a very nice looking man by the name of Emile Hirsch; which, mind you, looks a lot better when they show him at a part in the movie when he is 'cleaned up') money, a lot of money, and basically Johnny and his boys take this guys brother until the money issue is resolved.  The story focuses on the events of the kidnapping (which they call 'stealing') and what they do once they realize that they can't just return this boy without being punished. 
I won't tell anymore than that; I wouldn't want to ruin the movie!
The acting was pretty good, nothing to brag about, but nothing to put down.  The cast was a good one, Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, and some other (for the most part) unknowns, they all came together nicely and made a believable story.
So as I'm thinking over it in my head... I'd give the movie a B+... there is a little bit lacking in the 'in between' parts, but all in all I was entertained.  This is not an action packed movie and there are a few parts that make you laugh.  HOWEVER.. there was a quite obnoxious girl in my row who was either on drugs or she was just one of those people who think everything is funny; she laughed at too many parts, which I feel jump-started the rest of the audience to chuckle.  I don't think it's supposed to be a comedy.
I would recommend this movie to anyone; warning for drugs, violence, language and they do show some boobs, so if you don't like that.... HA!
Anyhow... go see it, it's not half bad, if you can get past JT as an actor which, again, is not that hard to do!
I hope you like my review and go check out the film... if not, you suck!
word to your mother and father...

Maybe I should be a movie critic?

The Departed:  A-
The casting of this movie was STELLAR!
Before paying one ounce of attention to the plot, I noticed the cast!  Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg (aka Marky Mark)... how can you go wrong?!  Once I went online to read what it was about, I decided to spend the money and see how it was.
My mother had seen it a few days before and said that it was a little confusing and every other word was "Fuck"... sounds like my type of movie!
So... without giving it away, let me just say that it was a great movie!  It's about the mob, it takes place in Boston, and there is a LOT of shooting and 'foul language'!!  Matt Damon plays a bad guy who works his way into the police force (to investigate the mob he is part of), Leonardo DiCaprio is a police officer who works his way into the mob!  Jack Nicholson is the mob leader.  The two don't know who each other are and they are both trying to find the moles within the two organizations.
The story could be easily confused if you are not paying attention; for the most part it's pretty easy to follow!
It is a rather long movie, though hardly noticed by the time it is over.  Coming in at 2 1/2 hours, make sure you buy the large soda and use the restroom before hand.  It was hard to pick a time to get my refill!!
Anyhow~ I'd give the movie an A-, I was entertained the whole time, and the story was very good... and I supposed for 2.5 hours of film you can't really add much more story to that.  I gave it an A- because of the really bad Boston accents, and Marky Mark being such an ass!! 
All in all... great movie, I highly recommend it!