Couples Retreat

Movie Title-- Couples Retreat

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 47 Minutes

Production Company-- Universal Pictures

Director-- Peter Billingsley

Cast-- Vince Vaughan, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Faizon Love, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristen Davis, Jean Reno, Carlos Ponce


Four couples go away to an island paradise for a couple's retreat and while one couple plans on working toward the good of their marriage, the other three couples plan on working on their tans and playing in the ocean. Once they get there however, they see that the resort has other plans for them and in order to stay on the island, they all have to participate couple's skill building to get the root of their relationships and learn how to fill the void in their lives that marriage, work and children has helped to open. What doesn't kill them, may make them stronger.

OK, with me, a Vince Vaughan movie is either hit or miss, meaning it is either super funny or a huge disappointment. This movie was pretty spot on, I laughed the entire time. We follow four couple friends that go away so that one couple can learn to grow together as a couple. When the four couples get there they find out that all of them will have to participate in all the couples therapy stuff or else the one couple that really wanted to come wouldn't have a chance to figure out their relationship. This aspect of the film is what makes it so funny. Without this aspect of the film it would just be some kind of a fluff film about one couple that may or may not make it.


Vince Vaughan's character goes on his normal comedic rants but this time he is actually funny, not annoying like it normally can be. He is not the funniest one in the movie however. Jean Reno who plays the part of Marcel, the man who created this program and Carlos Ponce who plays Salvadore the yoga instructor are the funniest two characters in the film. The story is a good one and the characters are funny, but Marcel and Salvadore are really the ones to watch the movie for. They put a whole new element in the film that makes everything that much more funny.


The scene with Vince Vaughan playing "Guitar Hero" is absolutely hilarious, it is one scene that you don't want to go to the bathroom during. Also, check out the extras on this film, if you don't think you have laughed enough when the movie ends, the extras are that much more funny. I think that any couple should sit through this film together; laughing together just makes things so much better, sharing a good laugh brings people together.

This movie makes me want to take a week off and go away to a secluded paradise. It is most definitively a movie that you have to see if you really want a good laugh. Check this film out and don't forget the popcorn!

Julia and Julie

Movie Title-- Julia and Julie

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 2 Hour and 3 Minutes

Production Company-- Columbia Pictures

Director-- Nora Ephron

Cast-- Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Emond


Julie Powell, after looking at her life teetering on the edge of 30 decides to create a blog and over the course of 365 days cook all 524 of the recipes in Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" cookbook. This blog takes her on her own personal adventure of growth, while also sharing the details of Julia Child's early life.

I think that this film was pretty cute. It wasn't really the best movie I have seen lately but it was by far not the worst one. This story is based on a true story, Julie Powell (played by Amy Adams in the film) actually did start the blog and she did make all the recipes from the cookbook in a year's time. She then was offered a book deal, where she wrote it all down and in the end, a film was produced from it.

Her story does give me a little bit of hope however. In the beginning of her blogging it seemed like no one was reading but the more she ventured forward, the more readers she picked up. When ever she got discouraged she would think about Julia Child and how Julia probably wouldn't be acting how she was and try to make herself feel better. It really seemed more like a late in life self discovery story, something that Julie had to do for herself more than anything else.

Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were great in this film. They seem to make a pretty good onscreen team (if you haven't checked out their performances in "The Devil Wears Prada", that is a good one to check out). Streep plays Julia Child and Tucci plays her husband Jeremy and the two of them just seem to flow with each other.

In all reality, watching Julie go through her life, doing something she loves to try to make her a better person and seeing Julia's own story of success makes these two women good role models for any woman that feels like they may have lost their way somewhere along the way. All in all, this film was a pretty decent one. Until next time, don't forget the popcorn!!

Second Skin

Movie Title-- Second Skin

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 34 Minutes

Film Type-- Documentary

Film Director-- Jaun Carlos Pineiro-Escoriaza

This documentary is about people that play online video games. The film focuses on many different types of people and the decisions they make regarding different video games, as well as explores the in game dynamics of online video games.

Well, just to start, I have to say that I may be a little bias when it comes to this topic because I myself am an online gamer. I am going to start this by just informing anyone reading this that is not real sure what online gaming is, a few things you will need to know for this review; most online games are commonly known as a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game or MMORPG. Some of the biggest MMORPGs out there at the moment are World of Warcraft (more commonly known as WoW), Everquest 2, Lord of the Rings Online, Darkage of Camelot and Runescape; there are more than this out there, however these are some of the top ten online subscription games. Every month, MILLIONS of people pay a subscription fee to play these games (nothing any higher than $20 a month that I know of).

A few more statistics to continue this on, over 50 million people play MMORPGs. For 1 female gamer, there are 10 male gamers. 1 out of every 3 female gamers date someone in a virtual world. The age ratio of people that play online games are as follows, 25% of people that play are ages 12-19, 15% of people that play are over 35 and 60% of people that play are 20-35. That is a huge number of "grown ups" that play "kid's games". Online gaming is no longer for children that have time on their hands, no, now with games like WoW, Everquest 2 and even Second Life, more and more adults are being mesmerized by these types of games.


This movie follows several different types of people such as a couple that meets on Everquest 2, a community in Fort Wayne, IN that looks to be a small mecca for online gamers and even a guy (who in my opinion is a little crazy) that has an online gaming addiction. As I watched this film I was very interested in the facts that were presented (like some of the ones I posted above) but there were other things that kinda bothered me. Stuff like Daniel Bustard and his "gaming addiction". I do understand that some people out there become addicted to video games (I do believe I know a few people that are) but this guy is crazy. He threatened suicide and even did things like lost his job because of his addiction. I understand that some people really, really get into their video games but everyone that I know that plays MMORPGs are all functioning members of society. They do things like go to their jobs and interact with "real life" friends and then play online in their own spare time. This movie in a way shows gamers in a negative light and where I can see that some people that play these games become way too invested in these types of games, most people aren't like some of the people in this film.

Most of this documentary was filmed in 2007 when Blizzard Entertainment, the company that makes World of Warcraft, was getting ready to release their first expansion, World of Warcraft the Burning Crusade (since the production was released Blizzard has put out another expansion, World of Warcraft The Wrath of the Litch King and a third expansion is scheduled to release later this year). The film crew follows four friends to the midnight release of the WoW expansion and joins them on a quest to see how close they could get to the level cap for the expansion in the span of one week. The Burning Crusade expansion made $96 million dollars on the day it was released, the top grossing movie in 2007 only made $60 million. In 2007 Blizzard grossed $1.2 billion dollars overall. The in game economy of WoW in 2007 was worth $20 billion dollars, that is a lot of worth for just a silly video game.


Edward Castronova, the author of "Synthetic Worlds" said this: "These computers on our desks are turning into portals to other realms of existence...realms that will one day be preferred to earth." In the cases of some people, this is already true. Some people are so drawn into MMORPGs and it has become an alternate reality for them. Half of all online gamers value their online friends more than their "real life" friends. For some people, online gaming is everything but that is not everyone. A lot of people that play MMORPGs make serious connections, making friends that they sometimes keep longer than the friends they see at work or school everyday. Online gaming for some people are the only way they can be social. People that have "social disorders" and even some people that are handicapped (there is a man in the movie that they interview that is handicapped and can not interact with other people) can only open up in this "other world". Some people feel more confident interacting with other people online because they don't feel like they are being judged and honestly, it is difficult to judge someone just by looking at someone's character on the screen in front of you.

All in all, this is a pretty good film. Some of the things presented in the film are over exaggerated but over all it is very interesting. The facts about the the online economy and how much the game company is making annually from the game were astounding, even as a WoW player I did not know the massive numbers that WoW achieves annually. If you are have some free time and are interested in learning more about MMORPGs then this is a good one to check out. All the online game screenshots are courtesy of me...I couldn't find any pictures from the movie (other than the opening picture) so I put my own pictures up. Also, I am sorry if you are reading this and are disappointed in my lack for information from other MMORPGs, honestly the only one I play is WoW, therefore I know the most information about that one. One of the gamers in the movie said "We're gamers, that's what we do." and that is very much a true fact. No one is going to stop a gamer from playing whatever game it is they play. It is recreational, just like some people go out and drink or party all night long, gamers play games, it's just what they do. If anyone is reading this and wants to look me up in WoW, just leave me a comment, I will let you know my screen name and server and until next time, don't forget the popcorn.

Avatar

Movie Title-- Avatar

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 42 Minutes

Production Company-- 20th Century Fox

Director-- James Cameron

Cast-- Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Long, Joel Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, Michelle Rodriguez


Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine takes his deceased brother's place in a high-profile experiment on the world of Pandora. Once arriving on Pandora, Jake "transforms" into his avatar and is immersed into a world that is unlike anything he has ever experienced. Now, he is torn between two worlds, the one he left behind and the one he must help to save.


I have to say, I really, really enjoyed this film. Other than Sigourney Weaver (and Zoe Saldana in other less serious roles) I had never really heard of the other actors (I mean, sure, I had seen them on something previously but if you line them up next to other, better known actors I would have no clue who they were) and I think that it was a very good idea to put lower profile actors into the film. The movie was super hyped up already (and with good reason) without casting big name stars into the film, good move Mr. Cameron. These actors worked very well with each other, the performances seemed genuine and for close to three hours, it didn't seem like I was sitting through a film, they did their jobs so well that I actually felt like I was there.

I do have to say that Stephen Lang was very good in this film. From the look of him on film, he almost looks like a G.I. Joe. He is very convincing as a marine Sargent, from his stout army boots all the way to his buzzed hair and grotesque scar down the right side of his head. Sam Worthington was also very good in this film. His portrayal of Jake Sully was authentic and real feeling. Because of his character's role, it was almost as if he had to have two different personalities and he pulled this off well.


I have to talk about the main character of this film though and that is the setting of Pandora. All computer generated graphics, it was just as alive as the characters on the screen. The Na'vi believe that everything interacts with everything else in their world, that all things work harmoniously together in order to survive and thrive, and therefore it was important to the story to show that all things were connected. This is achieved onscreen by simple things, like Jake and Neytiri (Zoe Saldana) walking across plants at night and every step that is taken lights up the ground they are walking on. In the theater I was in complete awe by the colors and dynamics of the setting (don't get me wrong, it was great in my living room as well but there is just something about that huge screen in front of you that makes everything seem so magical) and at one point during the film it felt as if I were truly a part of the movie.

The setting really is the best part of this movie. Don't get me wrong, the actors are great but the setting really does make this movie. James Cameron really wanted to take the view to this whole other world he has imagined and he does a spectacular job at doing that in this movie. The colors are great, so great that it makes everything around you seem to shimmer; watch it in the dark with the lights off, whenever the bright colors fill the screen it seems like the room around you changes and that is how good James Cameron is at making you feel like you are truly on Pandora.

The movie has taken a lot of crap for racism, for the way the Na'vi are dressed and some people have even say that "Avatar" is "Pocahontas" only with blue people. In my opinion, Avatar's story is very similar to that of "Pocahontas" but it is so much more than that. There is a love story in it but there is also a story of morals; it is about doing what is right, not for yourself but for the good of everyone. Furthermore, for anyone that thinks it is racist because of the way the Na'vi dress or act, it's only a movie, it isn't meant to be taken seriously.

There is one thing I regret about the movie and that is that is was so excellent in 3D I am sad that not everyone went to the theater to see it in 3D. "Avatar" was the movie to make sure you catch in 3D, there really is no other movie (that is coming out anytime soon anyway) that will compare to this one when it comes to the 3D effects.


I highly, HIGHLY recommend this film to anyone that is looking for something to help them escape their everyday, hum-drum life and slip into a world full of beauty and wonderment. Everyone has to catch this movie, so put the kids to bed early, put the cell phone on silent, turn off the computer and of course, don't forget the popcorn!

The Lovely Bones

Movie Title-- The Lovely Bones

Release Year--2010

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 15 Minutes

Director-- Peter Jackson

Cast-- Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Saoirse Ronan, Stanley Tucci, Susan Sarandon

Set in 1973, 14 year old Susie Salmon is murdered and watches her family cope from "above". As her family deals with the loss of Susie, they change forever, torn between vengeance and healing in a story about love and terrible loss.


The story for this film seemed interesting, so I decided to watch it and see if it is any good. However, in a movie with very few high points, most of the movie was no good at all. It was odd and the acting didn't seem genuine. The movie is really kind of interesting right up until Susie is murdered, that is when things get weird. I assume that Susie is watching her family from purgatory (they never officially say purgatory, they use a different name) but it really does seem like a world right out of a video game instead of purgatory. Don't get me wrong, some of the scenes are really cool but most of it is just odd and feels misplaced.

When not in this "other world" with Susie, we are with Jack, her father, while he tries to solve his daughter's murder. Jack is played by Mark Wahlberg and normally I like Wahlberg's performances but this one just didn't do anything for me. I thought it was a little over the top for a grieving father but perhaps I just feel like it wasn't his normal kind of role. Rachel Weisz play Abigail, Susie's mother. She is a mother dealing with her daughter's death but to me, she just seemed like a flake.


My favorite parts about this movie were Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon. Stanley Tucci plays George Harvey, a neighbor of the Salmon family. He is kind of creepy and he has this laugh in the film that almost makes your skin crawl. He did a very good job in this film, if I had a neighbor like him, I would keep my eyes wide open, especially if he gave me the creeps like this guy. Susan Sarandon was really my most favorite character in this film. She plays the part of Grandma Lynn, Abagail's mother. She brings a little bit of comedy to an otherwise serious film. The best is when she comes into the film after Susie is murdered and she takes control of a crumbling household.

All in all, this movie was only OK. I know for a fact that I will not be sitting through it again any time soon. If you do have to see this movie I would see it for Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon, otherwise I would just leave it on the shelf. If you decide to see it, don't forget the popcorn!

King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Movie Title-- King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Release Year-- 2007

Running Time-- 1 Hour 23 Minutes

Film Type-- Documentary

Film Director-- Seth Gordon

Cast-- Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe, Steve Saunders, Walter Day, Robert Mruczek, Brian Kuh, Roy Shildt

This documentary showcases the competitive side of arcade style video games and the rivalries that are created when a new competitor steps up to challenge the record holder of “Donkey Kong”.

I have to say thanks to my brother Nick for not only recommending this documentary to me but for watching it with me as well. He had mentioned before that this film would be something that he would like to see and once I told him I was writing out a film review on a documentary once a week, he asked if I would like to watch it with him. He, however, knew the some of the story behind this film that I did not.

I will not lie, when he told me about this film, I wasn't impressed. I kinda thought that it was going to be about a bunch of nerds, standing around playing arcade games (and although some of it WAS nerds standing around playing video games) it certainly wasn't all about that. The viewer is first introduced to this competitive world of arcade games and then quickly thrust into the “world” of Billy Mitchell. He set the world record in “Donkey Kong” in 1982 with a score of 874,300. Billy held 5 world records in arcade games including “Pac-Man” and of course, “Donkey Kong”.

Then we are introduced to Steve Wiebe, a man from Washington state that took an interest in “Donkey Kong”, even so far as to get an arcade game and set it up in his garage. Steve is said by many people in the film (including his wife and parents) to be very talented with his hands, however he seems to fail at everything he tries, that is until he starts playing “Donkey Kong”. So I don't spoil the film, I won't say much more than that but from this point a rivalry springs up between Steve and Billy.

Watching the film, I tended to start to favor Steve over Billy. In my own opinion, Billy Mitchell is an arrogant asshole that likes having things his way only, so whenever it seems like someone is threatening his “championship title”, he does what he can to prove that he is better than everyone else. The only thing that Billy proves is that he is an ass. Steve is my hero. He is an average guy that is doing his best at something he loves and although some of Billy's actions discourage him, he keeps doing what it is he loves, playing “Donkey Kong” to show that he has the skills to be a record holder.

The last half hour he is shown in Florida, playing for a chance to be put in the “Guinness Book of World Records” as the highest score in “Donkey Kong”. One of my favorite parts of this film is when he is talking to his daughter about the Guinness Book and she says that she doesn't understand the importance of the book and then goes on to say “Some people ruin their loves just to be in there”. Hats off to you Jillian Wiebe (although you probably shouldn't have said that to your dad the day before the competition started).

All in all, this is a pretty good film for any vintage arcade gamers. If you don't think that Steve is awesome (not only at “Donkey Kong” but all around a good guy) then we didn't watch the same film. I hope you enjoy this film and don't forget the popcorn!

The Proposal

Movie Title-- The Proposal

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 48 Minutes

Film Company-- Mandeville Films

Film Director-- Anne Fletcher

Cast-- Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Betty White

High profile book editor Margaret Tate finds out that she is in danger of being deported so she forces her assistant Andrew Paxton to marry her. So they won't get caught by immigration, Andrew takes Margaret home with him to Alaska for his grandmother's 90th birthday so that she can learn more about Andrew and his family.


I really enjoyed this movie. Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds had wonderful chemistry in this movie. They were so funny, they seem to make a great comedic pair. Reynolds plays Drew Paxton, Margaret Tate's (Bullock) assistant who does anything he can to make her happy, only because he knows she will make his life hell if he doesn't. He changes everything about himself because high powered Margaret only seems to care about herself. It isn't until she is threatened with deportation that she realizes that she needs Drew. Drew agrees to marry her but makes his own conditions, knowing that all she can do is agree to them. As the two of them head off to Alaska together to meet Drew's family, Margaret realizes how much she doesn't really know about Drew and doesn't really care to learn anything about him (other than what she has to so she can pass the immigration test) until she meets his family. From there is where the hilarity ensues. As in a romantic comedy, the story isn't totally believable but then again it's purpose is to make the viewer laugh.


Betty White was hilarious. The best part in this movie is when Grandma Annie (Betty White) and Margaret are in the forest dancing, I could not stop laughing while I was watching it. Also, Ramone, played by Oscar Nunez was a pretty good character. It did seem like as the movies goes on that Ramone was the only person in town that actually worked, which that in itself was very amusing.

Alaska was a beautiful setting in this film. The different views of the mountains, especially in the reflections of the water were breath taking. Everything down to the score was good in this film because sometimes when a movie is good, the right score can make that film that much better. I would recommend this movie to anyone looking for a romantic comedy or anyone just looking for a good laugh. I hope you enjoy this one, tomorrow is a documentary so come back for that one and don't forget the popcorn!!

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Movie Title-- The Men Who Stare at Goats

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 34 Minutes

Film Company-- BBC Films

Director-- Grant Heslov

Cast--George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang Journalist


Bob Wilton, in search of a way to impress his wife so that she would come back to him, stumbles upon a wild story about the military doing research on "psychic spies" for use in the military. Bob goes to Kuwait, trying to gain entry into Iraq where he meets Lyn Cassady, a member of the military that was part of the "psychic spy" research. After meeting Lyn, Bob joins Lyn on a mission into the dessert where he learns more about the ways of the "psychic spies" and discovers his own personal life lessons. Let me first say that I was surprised by this movie. I wanted to see it because I like the actors in the movie but I was sure I wasn't going to like it, however, I was very wrong. This movie was super funny and one I would recommend to anyone. The acting was very good and some things happen in the movie that I couldn't help but laugh at.


Ewan McGregor's American accent was done very well (because we all know that sometimes when actors that aren't native to the country of the character try to do the accent for, it sometimes gets lost in translation). George Clooney was the one to watch in this movie though. Just listening to the stories he had to tell about the training he went through as a "psychic spy" (also called a "remote viewer" in the movie by the members that underwent the training) was funny, that doesn't include the things he did to get him and Bob out of trouble a few times, furthering the whole "psychic spy" theory.


On another note, there was one "Lord of the Rings" and several "Star Wars" references. The name of the program the "psychic spies" were in was called "Project Jedi" and they refereed to themselves as "Jedi Warriors", so you get the need for the "Star Wars" references. Also, there was some awesome music in this movie; Boston, Dusty Springfield, Supergrass, Generation X and Swinging Blue Jeans to name a few.

All and all this was a pretty good movie. I would recommend it to anyone that was looking for something a little silly. Enjoy and don't forget the popcorn!

Skip the review today folks

OK everyone, I am skipping the movie review today. I know, I can hear your hearts breaking as I post this but I do however, have a very good reason for it. I want to outline how these movie reviews will be set up.

I had a complaint that I am posting movies that no one has heard of. Well, that is kinda true, I am, but the honest truth is, the reason I started this blog was purely selfish; I just wanted to find something to fill my time while at the same time doing something I love. So, the movies I was going to review would only be the ones I wanted to see. I then realized that I have a lot of friends that like to watch movies, so I decided to ask for suggestions from them about movies they think I would like. As the movies were being suggested I came to the second realization that a lot of these movies were older movies that people may not be interested in. Because of that, I had to do a lot of rethinking and this is what I came up with....

I would just review EVERYTHING. Yes, it sounds simple but really, it isn't. One day, someone is going to come across this blog (and honestly, some probably already have) and say "What the hell is this piece of crap movie she has reviewed" and never return. I like having people come back for more, so that made me start thinking about what kind of a direction this blog should go in and that is when I came up with the "review everything" solution. Let me explain:

I really want to expand my mind. This sitting around like a mindless zombie watching stupid comedies is fun but at what point does it start to rot your brain? I like all kinds of movies, so to help my mind reach the furthest, darkest corners it can, it needs something to respond to. Once a week I will be reviewing a documentary, even if it kills me to sit through it. The days I will post documentaries will be either Mondays or Tuesdays, just depending on what kind of documentary it is and whether or not my husband wants to watch it with me or not. Three days a week I am going to do newer movies. I say "newer" because in my opinion, a newer movie is something that has come out recently and I haven't seen yet, so what I am going to classify as a "newer"movie is anything from 2008-present. Once a week I am going to do an Independent film. Some weeks the "newer" film and the Indie film will be the same, I will not post another Indie film that week because some people aren't really much into those kind of films. The other two films will just be random. The random films gives a very wide range to choose from, on those random days it may be one of the following films; a black and white film, a musical, a foreign film, an animation, a western, a war epic, a fantasy, a sci-fi film, a silent film or a short film. Don't get me wrong, some of these films are not too odd, people watch fantasy films or westerns all the time but others such as foreign films or silent films, not so much. I am trying to expand your mind here, so be ready to read a review on anything.

Also, I am going to try to do at least two films that are in the theaters a month, that way things don't get stale with "not so new" releases. There will be some weeks that I will choose to showcase a certain director or a certain actor, I will give everyone a heads up before I start those weeks, just so you know what you have coming at you that week.

I want to thank the followers I have right now for following me. We are the few but we are the strong! No, seriously, thanks for having enough faith in me to become a follower of my blog, I hope that I don't disappoint you! Well, now that you have a little bit better of an idea of what direction this blog will be taking, be sure to check back in tomorrow. Tomorrow's movie will be "The Men Who Stare at Goats". Join me tomorrow and don't forget the popcorn!!

New York, I Love You

Movie Title-- New York, I Love You

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 43 Minutes

Film Company-- Vivendi Entertainment

Film Director-- Faith Akin, Yvan Attal, Allen Hughes, Shunji Iwai, Wen Jiang, Joshua Marston, Mira Nair, Brett Ratner, Randall Blasmeyer, Shekhar Kapur, Natalie Portman

Cast-- Natalie Portman, Robin Wright Penn, Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Blake Lively, Orlando Bloom, Christina Ricci, Hayden Christensen, Ethan Hawke, Andy Garcia, James Caan, Anton Yelchin, Rachel Bilson, Chris Cooper, Cloris Leachman, Eli Wallach

Set in New York, people live their lives and fall in love in the "city that never sleeps". Directed by several different directors and filmed in different film styles, it is a hodge podge of stories combined to make one.

OK, so, when I first heard of this film I was interested in seeing it. With there being several different directors combining their own visions to make one movie, it reminded me of some of the other movies I have seen and enjoyed. This movie however, was not one of them. When directors make a movie like this one, where all of their visions are complied into one work, it is either hit or miss. This movie was a miss. There truly was too many cooks in the kitchen on this one. Each story seemed separate and although some of the characters crossed over into a different director's vision (most likely to help tie all the mini films together), there really was not much of a story. There was hardly enough time for the character's to be introduced and to become involved in their personal story before it moved on to the next person. Don't get me wrong, there were a few stories that were easy to follow but most of it kept the viewer asking "what the hell is going on here?".


There were a few highlights, the part with Cloris Leachman and Eli Wallach was very touching and quite humorous. Hearing the banter between two elderly people that obviously love each other very much was amusing. Another good part was when Anton Yelchin (better known as Pavel Chekov in the newest "Star Trek" movie) went to prom. I don't want to say anything to spoil it, but it was a good part too.

Honestly, the main character in the movie was New York itself. Not only was New York the setting of the movie but it was also the most important part of the movie. Just watching everything in the background, nothing stops moving; from the traffic, to the trees and flowers blowing in the wind, it makes New York City it's very own living and breathing entity. It shows that without the city itself, there would have been no movie in the first place.


In the end, "New York, I Love You" wasn't worth the time it took to make the movie. Too many directors directing too many stories that don't have enough time to truly develop makes for one bad movie. I could have found something better to do with the hour and forty-five minutes it took to watch the movie. If you have to watch the movie because you have some kind of an untold "obligation" to your favorite actor to watch whatever film they are in and they happen to be in this one, I would suggest running through the movie until you get to the part your actor is in and then turn it off. New York, we do love you, we just don't love your movie. If you decide to watch the movie, good luck and don't forget the popcorn.

In the Realms of the Unreal

Movie Title-- In the Realms of the Unreal

Release Year-- 2008

Running Time-- 2 Hours

Film Type-- Documentary

Film Director-- Jessica Yu

Cast-- Larry Pine, Dakota Fanning


Dakota Fanning narrates this documentary about a man named Henry Joseph Darger. He would begin writing a novel in 1909, one that would be a large epic about a war, which he would write his entire life.


Yes, the synopsis I gave is incredibly short but I was not sure how to write it out better than that without adding my own personal opinions on it, so here is where I will share more about the movie with you. First, I have to thank a friend of mine, thanks Andrew for recommending this documentary to me. He saw it first and suggested it to my husband for me to watch. When my husband came home and told me that I needed to check out this documentary, I turned my nose up at it. I am not a big fan of documentaries, normally they bore me to death but since a good friend of ours suggested it, I thought I should give it a try (especially since I have decided to expand my horizons a little more).

As I began watching this documentary, I started to think that it was going to be like all the rest I had seen but it soon became clear that this was not like your typical documentary. As I watched about this man's life I felt saddened by his story. As a child he had a rough time, he was sent to a child workhouse and then later to a mental institution. He escapes and in 1909 he finds a menial job and this is when he starts writing his novel, which he turns into an epic. As he begins his writing, he decides to also to do his own illustrations. He is never taught any kind of techniques in writing or drawing so he becomes a collector, collecting magazines, newspapers, pictures and comics to help teach himself how to draw. He incorporated books he liked and people he knew into his work, although he never had any friends.

Listening to his story Darger sounded like a loony but the more I learned about him, the more it seemed like he was a creative genius. Darger was a loner who would speak to himself in different accents to make it seem like he had other people around. He never associated with anyone, even is landlord and the other people in his building weren't real sure how to pronounce his name. His novel in the end was 15,000 pages long. He finished his work in 1971, two years before his death with two different endings. When he died in 1973, his landlords began to clean out his room and found 70,000 pages of work and about 300 pieces of art. Some of his art was 10 feet long, pages that he taped together and painted on both sides.

I personally think that this man was brilliant. He may have been crazy to everyone around him but he grew up in some unfortunate circumstances and writing his own personal masterpiece was his way of escaping into his own little world, a world he himself called "The Realms of the Unreal". If you are looking to watch a documentary, I would check this one out. It truly is amazing listening to this story about this man that everyone thought was crazy. He was alone his whole life with only his own creations to keep him company. It is sad and compelling but worth the two hours it took to watch. If you are interested in his art (which the movie does say has inspired all kinda of music, art and literature) you can always look him up online. Some pieces may be a little disturbing (people weren't real sure if he was ever taught the differences between boys and girls, so most of the drawings he has of little girls have penises) but to be self taught they are very good, some of them are completely amazing. His art is showcased in the movie as well.

Well, I hope that I have helped open your eyes to something unusual and until next time, Don't Forget the Popcorn!

Alice in Wonderland

Movie Title-- Alice in Wonderland

Release Year-- 2010

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 49 Minutes

Film Company-- Disney

Director-- Tim Burton

Cast-- Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Mia Wasilkowski, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover



The story beings with Alice, age 6, being put back to bed by her father after she has waken from a nightmare. The story then flashes forward thirteen years to Alice and her mother in a carriage on their way to a garden party. Once at the garden party, Alice finds herself distracted after seeing a white rabbit in a waistcoat. She follows the rabbit, coming across an old tree and a rabbit hole. As she inspects the hole she takes a tumble down into a room full of doors. After unlocking the smallest door and entering "Wonderland"(after some folly with food and drink labeled "Eat Me" and "Drink Me") she comes across some fantastic, although eccentric creatures. In Wonderland she befriends a Mad Hatter that is leading a revolution against the ruler of Wonderland, The Red Queen, but because he is mad he is only seen as a fool. After some antics, Alice comes to the realization that she is supposed to help save Wonderland by becoming the champion of the White Queen (thanks to the help of Abosolom, the Blue Caterpillar). In the end, Alice believes that some truly impossible things really are possible.




When I first heard that Tim Burton was making this film I was very excited, only to become even more eager to see the film once hearing Johnny Depp was going to star in it. I am a big fan of the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaborations, so to me this was going to be a must see movie. The movie had the things that I favor in a Tim Burton movie; the dark colors, the fantastic wardrobe and the altered appearances of the actors. To me those are the things that make up a Tim Burton film, of course, do not be confused, just because the settings are dark it does not at all mean that the story onscreen is. To me, this movie fell a little short. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There" are very often portrayed as one feature (and this movie did the very same as most movies do and combined the two books to make one movie) but both books have dark undertones which I do not think were portrayed like they could have been in this film. I went into the film with lowered expectations because after all, it is a movie filmed for Disney, so I knew that it could not be portrayed as dark as it should have been but I was a little disappointed by how lacking it was. The movie was meant for people that have never really seen any other adaptation of "Alice in Wonderland" other than the 1951 cartoon adaptation that Disney made. That however was not Burton's fault, after all, he was not the one that wrote the screenplay. I do think that if another film company had made the movie, there would have been more room for Burton to input that "freakishly disturbing twist" of his on it, which would have enhanced the feel of the movie.

Tim Burton's cast of regulars were in the movie, including Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham-Carter as the Red Queen, as well as cameos by Alan Rickman as Abosolom the Blue Caterpillar and Christopher Lee as the Jabberwocky. Also including actors that seem unusual to a Burton film such as Mia Wasilkowska as Alice, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen and Crispin Glover as Stayne, the Red Knave.

As much as I love Johnny Depp, it seems as if his heart was not really in this role. He did a good job when he was being "mad" but whenever the Mad Hatter slipped off into a sullen, more disturbed side of himself, Depp's Scottish accent and seemingly ill mood didn't seem to flow with his own personal acting style.

Anne Hathaway as the White Queen seemed to be very flighty and fake and onscreen those aspects showed through. I am not sure what Anne Hathaway's best work is but this is far from it. It almost seems as though she took the role in this Burton film to get away from previous roles she has played (like her roles in "The Princess Diaries" or "The Devil Wears Prada") but after this one, maybe she should go back to those roles and leave behind roles in films that Burton and other similar directors make.

Helena Bonham-Carter as the Red Queen was by far the best performance of the movie. The manic and shrill screams of "off with her head" seemed to resonate through-out the theater during the movie. Bonham-Carter played this role very well and she perhaps had the best script of everyone that was in the movie. She played the Red Queen as if she were a force to be reckoned with and of course, as we all should know, the Red Queen IS a force to be reckoned with. Her performance seemed to be the only one that did not suffer what the script writer had written for her but that could be because she felt the need to excel to get the audience past her very large, awkward bobble head.

In my own opinion, this movie wasn't the best one out there to see and if you are going to see it, at this point I would suggest just waiting for it to come out on DVD, however it isn't the worst movie I have ever seen. Don't see this movie for the story, just about everyone knows the story of "Alice in Wonderland", see the movie for the costumes and Bonham-Carter's performance. Just go into the movie knowing you may be a little disappointed when you come out of it and don't forget the popcorn!

Welcome to the Blog!

Hey there all you movie buffs! I would hope that if you stumbled upon this blog then you enjoy movies or you are looking for a review for a certain movie. Hopefully I can be your guide to whatever kind of movie you are looking for.

Let me just tell you a little bit about myself----I am a movie buff. I have been for a very long time. My movie collection right now stands at over 300 DVDs, with all kinds of titles. I have very recently been told by a friend of mine about a video store near by to myself that rents out all kinds of titles; I have heard people say it is "Like a Blockbuster but better". Not only do they have your standard new releases but they also have indie films and movies from all over the world. I plan on making my first visit to this place very soon and I am excited about it, I can't wait!

Now I shall explain how I will set up each movie review---I will start by posting the title of the movie as the title for the blog and I will also write the title in the body of the blog. I will then post what year it was released, the running time, the film company, the directors and the lead actors of the film. After that, I will give a run down of the movie (without spoiling anything) and finally I will give my opinion of the movie. If I do write something that is a spoiler, then I will make sure I have a "Spoiler Alert" posted. Just to put it out there, when the critics hate a movie, nine times out of ten I enjoy it, so after I give a short synopsis of the movie know that everything else written is my own personal opinion.

I also encourage people to leave comments on the movie I have written a review out for as well as tell me what your opinion of the movie is. I understand and respect that not everyone will like something that I have posted, I just ask that if you post a reply that you be respectful of my opinion and don't use your post as a time to "rip me a new one".

Well, I am excited to get reviewing, I am gonna to do my very, very best to post a new review every day. Check back in daily to see what movie I am watching and if you decide to check that movie out, Don't Forget the Popcorn!