Movie Review – The Expendables

Think Rambo meets the A-Team. This movie is VERY violent.  I was reminded at one point of standing in line at a butcher shop, but in the movie, it was people who were being sliced and diced.  Granted, they were bad people, but still.  Yikes.  The sound track was pretty much grunts, punches, bones breaking, and explosions.  Remember in Rambo when one guy shoots thousands of people and ends up with some bruises and scrapes?   This is similar … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Eat, Pray, Love

Julia Roberts was amazing in this movie.  It was such a quiet movie, more thinking than happening, and she portrayed the emotions of Elizabeth Gilbert, so well.  I have to add a caveat to this review - I have not read the book.  I fear that if you have, the movie will disappoint you.  As is often the case, books can describe a characters emotions much more strongly than an actor can show.  This particular story is all about a journey of … [Read more...]

Movie Review: The Other Guys

Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are incredibly funny in this movie.  They manage to work in every type of comedy.  Everyone laughs at different things - and is irritated by different things.  I love "surprise" comedy, with something unexpected, outrageous, and well, funny.  I'm irritated by "bodily functions" funny, just doesn't do it for me to hear about somebody wetting their pants.  You know what I mean.  Some people will laugh at … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Ramona and Beezus

I hadn't read any of the Beverly Cleary's books about Ramona and Beezus before I saw the movie, but now I want to find them for Rosie!  If you're a fan, the Quimby family on Klickitat Street are old friends. There is so much  humor and joie de vivre in the character of Ramona, played by Joey King.  It is something that makes Ramona "different", which isn't always easy for a third grader.  Ramona's sister, Beatrice, nicknamed "Beezus" … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Salt

Angelina Jolie plays Evelyn Salt and she is amazing in this movie. The movie is action-packed from start to finish. There are car chases, explosions, fist fights, assassination attempts, but it's also a smart movie. It keeps you thinking, wondering, evaluating information right up to the end. The basic story is about Russian sleeper agents - planted in the United States, waiting to be called to action. It is so bizarre that this was just in … [Read more...]

Movie Review – The Sorcerer's Apprentice

Jay Baruchel is lovable in his role in The Sorcerer's Apprentice. He's just a geeky college student who know much more about physics than girls. But I jump ahead. When he was ten years old, a wind-blown note from a girl leads him into a strange shop where he finds Nicholas Cage's character, Balthazar. Balthazar has been searching for decades to find Merlin's heir-to-sorcery. You guessed it! None other than our cute little nerd, David … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Inception

Cool. That was cool.That's what I said as I left the theater after watching the movie, Inception. Cool.Halfway through the movie, I started writing the review in my head and it was not good. I was frustrated - it felt like they were changing the "rules" in the middle of the game, I was losing track of what was going on and who was who. It was like watching a basketball game but all the players looked the same and wore the same uniforms. Who … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Despicable Me

Cute! Funny! Cute! Funny!I liked this movie! The time flew by when I saw it this afternoon. The run time is only 1 hour and 35 minutes which I think is perfect for an animated comedy. The story is simple and predictable but the comedy is fun and fresh. Steve Carell manages to make the villain loveable and I like the message that it gives that people aren't always all-bad or all-good.Whoever wrote the script obviously loves children and … [Read more...]

Movie Reviews – The Last Airbender vs Grown Ups

The Last Airbender vs Grown Ups? Kind of like the Chicago White Sox vs the Chicago Cubs - someone's gotta win, but it's not pretty!I went to the theater today to see The Last Airbender. I hadn't heard much about the movie, but had a vague recollection of seeing a sci-fi preview. The story started out like this. There are four elements and tribe-like groups of people on earth: water, air, earth and fire. There is only one person who can … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Knight and Day

I saw this movie right after The Karate Kid, so it may be some residual good feelings (I loved The Karate Kid), but I liked Knight and Day. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It was fun. It was funny. Cameron Diaz is cute and funny. Tom Cruise is on a motorcycle again. What's not to like?I can tell you a bit about the story, but this is one of those movies where the story really doesn't matter. It's fluff, but it's funny fluff. Cameron … [Read more...]

Movie Review – The Karate Kid

I loved everything about this movie!I loved the story. Young Dre Parker and his mother move to China, so that she can work. Dre is bullied by a group of young men who don't like his attention to a beautiful young girl named Mei Ying.I loved the acting. Jackie Chan (Mr. Han) was very good in his role as the broken and beaten maintenance man of the apartment building Dre and his mother live in. Dre seeks him out for help. I didn't expect much … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Toy Story 3

Welcome to Sunnyside.......It sounds like a great idea. Andy is going away to college, the toys haven't been played with in years, the attic is lonely and dusty. If the toys go to a cute and sunny day care, there will be lots of kids to play with! But...... at Sunnyside, there is, dum, da dum dum, DUMMMMMMM (think scary noise, but not as scary as say, Chucky), Lotso the Bear. Lotso was lost from his owner years ago and has never been the same … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Sex and the City 2

I really wanted to like this movie. I had heard a review by Richard Roeper - usually I don't like to hear a review before I go, but this was somewhat accidental and once it started, my curiosity was piqued. Mr. Roeper hated the movie. But how many guys like any of the Sex and the City (SATC) shows? Even less, how many admit to liking Sex and the City. Now that I've seen the movie, though, he did make a few valid points.Sex AND THE CITY. … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Shrek Forever After

You wake up to the same old, same old, every day...... You start to wonder where your life is going.... Then you see a picture of the young, wild and free you... You begin to long for those days....Well, if you're a large green ogre, don't, don't, don't sign anything! Especially if it's presented to you by someone named Rumpelstiltskin. You foolishly agree to trade one day of your life (a day you don't even remember) to regain your youth when … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Just Wright

Queen Latifah plays Leslie Wright, a biological-clock-ticking woman, who just hasn't met Mr. Right. Groan, I know, I know, it's a bad pun. Leslie is the girl that every guy likes to have as a friend, watch a basketball game with, hang out. She's not the girl that her cousin/friend Morgan is. Morgan is the hot chick who wants (and is voted most-likely-to) marry an NBA star. At one point in the movie, a friend of Leslie describes Morgan as "The … [Read more...]

Movie Review – Letters to Juliet

I give this movie a "thumbs-up"! I loved it! That said, I also love Lassie, White Christmas, and Doris Day. Letters to Juliet is a very nice movie. Dare I say "wholesome"? It is a little like when your grandmother told you that she had a nice girl for you to meet. My grandmother would have liked Sophia (the main character, played by Amanda Seyfried) and this movie.One of the critics said, "If you've seen the trailer, you've seen the movie." … [Read more...]