This is a comedy about a guy who is divorced from his wife and is going through a slump, he pretty much stays at home and watches movies and ignores his friends and has a pretty boring life.  He runs into his old friend who is kind of nutty but lives life to the fullest.  His friend puts him on to this seminar where they teach you to say yes to living life.  He goes, he learns, and he gets into some of the funniest situations.

I didn’t think much of movie from the preview except that it would be decently funny.  It ended up being great.  I laughed most of the movie and sometimes at the random things in between.  This isn’t something I would rush out and see in theatres unless you like the price of movies these days.  I would rent it.

Rating:  

Submit this

Hide Sites

I was a little leery about this latest installment in the Bond franchise.  I jumped on the Daniel Craig bandwagon (along with everyone else) after seeing Casino Royale, his first foray into portraying this iconic character.  Royale was enthralling, and I still absolutely love the scene in which Bond is poisoned and actually dies.  He dies!  Of course, it’s only temporary, and Craig signed on for this follow up, Quantum of Solace (I love the name).  Solace was going to have much more action, all the articles said so, and I have an automatic shut off switch when it comes to car chases, foot chases, shoot outs, and any type of battle scene.  So, sure, I was leery.

I loved it.  The story was sharp and moved quickly.  It picks up right where Casino Royale left off, with Bond on a mission to get revenge for the death of the woman he loved.  We jump in with him in pursuit of a secretive organization called QUANTUM, and chasing after …. (played by Mathieu Amalric, who starred in the amazing The Diving Bell and The Butterfly).  The dialogue is clever and biting, and Judi Dench is a riot, reprising her role as M.  The one complaint that I have is the style in which it was shot.  I complained about this back in my Bourne Ultimatum review (which I know all of you faithful readers have read) about the fight scenes and chase scenes that employed the “shaky camera” technique.  This is probably more realistic, and captures the frenetic nature of what is happening, but that doesn’t matter if I can’t tell what is happening.  Who is chasing who?  Who was just hit in the head by a piece of collapsing ceiling?  I couldn’t tell, and that takes the fun out of it for me.

All in all, this is completely worth seeing (for the two of you who haven’t by now, this isn’t a very timely review).  Its fun and its action packed and Daniel Craig is so very much fun to look at.  This makes it a great date movie, action sequences for the guys and Daniel Craig for the ladies.

Rating:  

Previews I Liked:

Star Trek
Yes Man
Nothing Like the Holidays
Angels and Demons
Seven Pounds

Submit this

Hide Sites

I will be completely honest with you. I am not a huge fan of the books. I’ve read them all, devoured them, really, but I had issues with them. I’m going to put the issues aside for this; I tried to view the movie with an objective mind set, on its own merits.

Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) is the 17 year old (well, to those who aren’t in the know) vampire who falls in love with Bella Swann (Kristin Stewart), a human girl who is drawn to him in spite of the obvious danger. Despite their very obvious differences, they become inseparable, and Bella must learn to move amongst the Cullen “family”. Edward lives with his parents and four other teenage vampires, forming their coven. All seven of them have taken on their chosen identity to blend in with everyone else in the small town of Forks. Going into the movie I thought the casting was wacky. Though the actors playing his mom and dad do a terrific job they look far too young for the part.

Honestly, the movie wasn’t half bad. It stays faithful to the novel, and the small changes that are made improve the whole. Yes, I found it to be cheesy and there was a LOT of gazing into each others’ souls, but it’s sincere, so that makes it all easier to digest. I still have concerns about the cast (how will Taylor Lautner play the much larger Jacob in the second installment?) but the principle actors were well cast and the film itself was a solid effort. This seems to be a hit with the entire female population, most of them salivating over Edward (a little creepy considering he’s supposed to be 17), but guys should attend as well if they want to get in good with their female companions.

Rating:  

Previews I Liked

Marley and Me
Four Christmases
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Yes Man
Knowing

Submit this

Hide Sites