The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Movie Title-- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Release Year-- 2008

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 45 Minutes

Production Company-- Paramount Pictures

Director-- David Fincher

Cast-- Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond

This is an epic that chronicle's Benjamin Button's life as he "grows" backwards from old age to childhood. It is about the trials and tribulations as well as the adventures and love he experiences as he makes his way through life.


This movie won 3 Academy Awards, so naturally, I had to see if it was really worth those 3 awards it took home. I have to say that yes, it is a pretty good film. There were a few parts that were kind of slow but over all it was interesting.

Brad Pitt did a really good job in this film. I think that it was probably hard to play a man aging backwards but the make-up was fantastic. The make-up artists did a great job of aging Pitt, although they had a very good subject to work with. Cate Blanchett was beautiful in this film as well, although they didn't have to work as hard with her to achieve the desired effect.


I would say that this isn't really a film that a guy would enjoy. I say, get your girlfriends over for this film and make sure the popcorn is ready, you don't want to forget the popcorn on this one!

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Movie Title-- Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

Release Year-- 2008

Running Time-- 42 Minutes

Director-- Joss Whedon

Cast-- Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, Felicia Day, Simon Helberg

A short story about aspiring supervillian Dr. Horrible that includes a few run ins with his arch-nemesis Captain Hammer and their mutual love interest Penny.


Alright, just a few facts about this film----Joss Whedon funded this project on his own. It was put on the internet in three different "acts", all 14 minutes each and 2 days between each other.

This movie was pretty awesome. At first it seems a little cheesy but once you actually get into the story, it is really good. Neil Patrick Harris plays Dr. Horrible and at first looking at him one thinks "hmmm...do you think that he can pull this off" but he does a very good job at playing the bad guy. Nathan Fillion plays Captain Hammer, Dr. Horrible's arch rival. Captain Hammer is very self-centered and egotistical, which just makes things hilarious. The two of them working together made for a pretty funny team.


Felicia Day plays Penny, Dr. Horrible's (a.k.a. to her Billy Buddy) and Captain Hammer's love interest. Her looks are very plain, especially next to Neil Patrick Harris' baby face and Nathan Fillion's good looks, but it almost seems like that is what Joss Whedon was going for when he cast her as Penny. The only thing that I think makes her completely unattractive is her nose but the only sensible thing to do is look past all that and listen to her voice. I think that her singing voice was just remarkable, honestly, I would not expect a voice like hers out of such a small body.


Over all this is a very enjoyable film. It is a musical (hence "Sing-Along Blog"), so anyone that can't stand to sit through a musical, you may want to just skip this one. I say if you have 42 minutes to burn and don't really mind sitting through a musical, sit through it. Just go into this film knowing that it may seem a little cheesy and that the story is a little shallow but with it being only 42 minutes long there is no way it could have delve any deeper into any kind of a story other than what Whedon was trying to relay. If you do sit through this film, I am fairly sure you will enjoy it. Until next time, don't forget the popcorn!

The Long Way Home

Movie Title-- The Long Way Home

Release Year-- 1997

Running Time-- 2 Hours

Film Type-- Documentary

Director-- Mark Jonathan Harris

Cast-- Morgan Freeman, Edward Asner, David Payner, Sean Astin, Martin Landau, Miriam Margolyes, Nina Siemaszko, Helen Slater, Michael York

A documentary about the Jew's after they were liberated from concentration camps in 1945 until they were given their own homeland back in 1948.

I have to admit that the beginning of this movie was hard to watch. I think that anyone with any kind of soul or conscious can agree with me. It shows the Jews that were in the concentration camps and just seeing them is a little disturbing (but then again, anyone that has ever watched any kind of movie about the holocaust in school knows how hard it is to see some of these images). The cast mentioned above obviously are not in the film but are used as voice overs and Morgan Freeman is the narrator of the film.

This film goes into how the Jew's were treated after the war and I have to say, there are a lot of things that I am pretty sure I never learned in school. The Jews were a people that everyone wanted to help but no one wanted them around. America and the British did what they could for the Jews but in the end, while waiting for entry into Palestine, they ended up getting put back into the very concentration camps they were liberated from after the war.

It is a hard film to watch but sometimes we need to know what happened in the past in order to prevent it from happening in the future. This is a good film to watch to learn about the creation of Israel. Not only that, it seems that this documentary won an Oscar, it is worth taking a look at. Until next time, Don't forget the popcorn!

Slumdog Millionaire

Movie Title-- Slumdog Millionaire

Release Year-- 2008

Running Time-- 2 Hours

Production Company-- Film4

Director-- Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan
Cast-- Dev Patel, Saurabh Shukla, Anil Kapoor, Rajendranath Zutshi, Jeneva Talwar, Freida Pinto, Irrfan Khan

Jamal Malik, an 18 year old orphan from Mumbai, is on his way to winning a million rupees on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" but when the show breaks for commercial he is arrested for suspicion of cheating and taken away into seclusion. He is questioned about how a kid from the slums knows so much and he explains through stories of his life how he knows all the answers.

I was a little late to get to this film but since it did win a lot of awards, I wanted to know if it was really worth all the hype. As it turns out, this movie WAS worth seeing. Once you get into this movie, you don't want to climb off the couch to do anything else. It truly will have you wanting to see this through to the end without distraction.

As with any good film, there is a love story interwoven into this film, this one however starts at an early age. At first it starts as a close friendship between Malik and Latika but as the movie progresses it is obvious that Malik becomes closer and closer to Latika because he feels more than friendship.



Malik's brother Salim however, is a little shit through-out the whole movie. I am not sure if he is supposed to be villainized through-out the film or not but he does tend to be. From the beginning of the film I really disliked him. There was only two parts that Salim manages to act like a good guy but I will let you figure that out for yourself.

All and all, this is a very good film. This is definitely one to put on your "To Watch" list. There is so much power behind this movie. Just a side note, when Malik and Salim are children, you do have to read some subtitles but after a few lines it becomes almost second nature and you hardly notice that you are reading along. This is a good film, check it out and don't forget the popcorn!

Converstaions with Other Women

Movie Title-- Conversations with Other Women

Release Year-- 2006
Running Time-- 1 Hour and 24 Minutes

Production Company-- Gordon Street Productions

Director-- Hans Canosa

Cast-- Aaron Eckhart, Helena Bonham Carter, Nora Zehetner, Erik Endem

A man and a woman meet at a wedding and flirting turns into a night of passion and remorse.

Yes, the summary is short but it is actually a short movie, considering the length of most movies. This is an indie film and in my own honest opinion, it was not a very good film. There were a few dynamics that kind of make the movie a little confusing and at other times it makes the movie slightly....enlightening...to say the least.

Let me explain, through the entire movie there is a split screen, so at any given time you can watch each of the main character's faces to see their reactions. The only time that it changes away from the main character is if it is showing a flash back or if they are panning across the room to show what is happening around the couple. The split screen does get a little annoying after a while though because sometimes there are different "outcomes" and it shows both as a split screen.

The movie is awkward and things seem very tense for at least the first 45 minutes of the movie. Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter have no chemistry in this film. In fact, Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter don't even have names in this film. In the credits they are labeled as "man" and "woman".
This is a film that should maybe be left on the shelf. I would recommend not picking this film up. If you see it on the shelf, pass it over and find something else. I really like Helena Bonham Carter but I could have gone without seeing this film. If you absolutely have to, check this movie out, otherwise, move onto the next best thing and don't forget the popcorn!

Memento

Movie Title-- Memento

Release Year-- 2000

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 53 Minutes

Production Company-- Summit Entertainment

Director-- Christopher Nolan

Cast-- Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Jorja Fox, Stephen Tobolowsky, Harriet Sansom Harris

A man loses his short term memory after being struck in the head while confronting two men that rape and murder his wife in their home. After the incident he is determined to avenge his wife's death and sets out to murder the man that killed his wife. Before he reaches his goal he is used by people that manipulate his condition for their own benefits.

I just have to say, I really really enjoyed this movie. When I first started this blog I was talking with my husband and one of our friends about it and my friend suggested a few movies to me that I might enjoy or at least take a look at so I could determine on my own what I thought about it. For that, I have to say thanks to Nelson. Although I enjoyed the film, I am sure that without the recommendation it wouldn't have been something I would have decided on all on my own.

That being said, I sat down to watch the film knowing one thing; if you watch the movie backwards it will all make sense. I have read that online and heard it from other people but never seeing the movie before now I didn't really grasp that concept before. So, I clicked the streaming Netflix on and in my head said to myself "pay attention, things may get hairy". Within the first ten minutes of the movie I realized one thing, the scenes that are in color are the "backwards" scenes and the ones that are in black and white are in chronological order. This dynamic is so that the viewer can experience the film as if we are looking out of the main character, Leonard Shelby's eyes and then the black and white scenes are thrown in there so that we can be caught up and understand what is happening.


Guy Pearce's character is really intense in this film. Watching the movie you feel for Pearce's character, Leonard Shelby. Leonard only remembers his life right up until the murder of his wife and from then on he only remembers things for a few minutes before his slate is wiped clean again and he remembers nothing. For his benefit he takes pictures of the people that he is closely involved with and leaves himself important notes in a very unconventional way.

If you can't really follow the plot lines of a movie, this may not be a film for you. When it cuts from color to black and white and vice versa it does become slightly confusing. If you can follow plot lines you should probably still pay close attention to this movie. This is one that you want to make sure you watch when you have nothing else going on or else you may miss something. If you miss something, you may as well not finish the movie because by missing something in this film you will have no idea what you saw once you get to the end.

I my opinion this was a really good film, a bit odd and a little crazy but it is good. I would recommend this movie to anyone that is interested in seeing a film that is a little off-kilter. It isn't really a typical "I just found this at the movie store and thought it looked good" kind of a movie. If you do pick this one up, keep your mind open so that you can follow the story, you will thank me for it later and don't forget the popcorn!

It Might Get Loud

Movie Title-- It Might Get Loud

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 38 Minutes

Film Type-- Documentary

Film Director-- Davis Gugeenhiem

Cast-- Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White

Three musicians, Jimmy Page, U2's The Edge and Jack White, meet on January 23, 2008 to discuss the one thing they have in common, the electric guitar. This documentary showcases the electric guitar, how the blues guitar influenced early rock and roll and made it what it is today. It also shows how these three men got their start in rock and shows how each of their own personal lives were shaped by the electric guitar.

I love this film! If you are a rock and roll fan or a fan of Led Zeppelin, U2 or The White Stripes, you will love this film too. For anyone that is not a fan of rock and roll or you have no idea who Jimmy Page, The Edge or Jack White is, let me tell you about them before I go anywhere else with this...



Jimmy Page was born in England in 1944. When he was young he moved into a house with his family and there was a guitar left behind in the house that they moved to and that was his first experience with a guitar. He started his career as a session guitarist and then became a member of The Yardbirds in 1966 until 1968. In 1968 he decided to start a blues rock band, something that had never been tried before and he founded "Led Zeppelin". Led Zeppelin was together from 1968 until 1980 when drummer Jon Bonham died unexpectedly. He is considered one of the best guitarist in the world.


The Edge was born in 1961 in England. When he was one year old, his parents move to Dublin, Ireland. He answered an advertisement to join a band 1976 and in 1978 after a few name changes, U2 emerged. Their first album was released in 1980. In 1981 he almost left the band but was persuaded to stay in the band. U2 is still together to this day.



Jack White was born in 1975 in Detroit, Michigan as Jack Gillis. He was the youngest of 10 children, most of whom were very musically inclined. He married Megan White in 1996 and decided to take her surname, becoming Jack White. Meg began playing the drums in 1997 and Jack decided to start a band, hence The White Stripes was born. When the two of them were interviewed they told people they were brother and sister, although not long after the start of the band it became widespread knowledge that they were husband and wife, although they still insisted they were brother and sister. They were divorced in 2000 and in 2005 Jack finally admitted that the story of them being brother and sister was so that people focused on the music and not their relationship. He has also been in the bands The Raconteurs, The Dead Weather and has also done some solo work, one work being the film "Cold Mountain" where he played the part of "Georgia".


The beginning of the film is really cool. It starts out showing Jack White building a guitar from wood, wire, nails, a glass coke bottle and an amp, it is pretty sweet. Then it goes into introductions and show the three men on their way to the studio where it was filmed. Once they are together it cuts in and out of personal, one on one interviews with each man. It also shows each man talking with one another in their own personal jam session. These three men had never met anyone before January 23, 2008 and I read an interview with Davis Gugeenhiem saying that he was worried when the three men got together because that said at first the men sat together just talking back and forth, asking each other what kind of guitars they used. It wasn't until Jimmy Page stood up and started to play "Whole Lotta Love" that Gugeenhiem knew that magic was being made.

The set was composed of a kind of platform, with a few plush chairs, a small table and amps set up around them, as well as mics and guitar stands. It is obvious that each men had guitars brought in for this session, Jimmy Page even had his famous double neck guitar (that was created specifically made for "Stairway to Heaven") there. The men played some of their own songs for the others as well as playing all together. The film shows each of them in their own elements as well. We go with The Edge to his high school where he found the note tacked on a bulletin board advertising for band mates and where the band would conduct rehearsals. We see Jack White in Nashville with his son and Detroit where he was born and that gave him the spark to start his musical career. Jimmy Page takes us to Headley Grange, the house where Led Zeppelin III and the best Led Zeppelin album of them all, Led Zeppelin IV was recorded, as well as letting us into what I can only assume is a "music" room in his house, filled with all forms of recorded music, from records to CDs and everything in between.


The men also go over how they each were inspired to play the guitar and there is also some talk about how blues music influenced their own style of play, however, Jack White does most of the talking when it comes to that subject. If you are a big fan of any of the three of them, there is footage of all three bands, my favorite being the footage from Led Zeppelin (in recent years I have become a huge fan of Led Zeppelin, so I am slightly bias when it comes to their music). Each men played their own music; Jimmy Page played "Ramble On", "The Battle of Evermore" and "Whole Lotta Love", The Edge played "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" and as Jimmy played I could almost hear Robert Plant's cool, bluesy wail singing along with the guitar riffs or Bono's smooth and strong voice to compliment Edge's "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

This movie is a stand alone piece of art that could not have been made by anyone less than these three men. They bring their own styles and sounds together so that each man can understand where the other is coming from. It is amazing hearing their stories and watching them play together. Anyone watching this can tell that these men are comfortable with what can only be described as a passion of theirs. Jimmy Page even says that a guitar is like a woman, you have to be passionate about something to be able to humanize it like that. WATCH THE CREDITS ON THIS ONE!!!! As the film ends, the men are playing a song called "The Weight" by The Band and as the song and the credits come to a close, the camera pans out to show the film crew standing in a large group just listening to these three men playing together, it is truly amazing.

This was a wonderful film, I would recommend it to anyone that is interested in REAL music, not the hip hop and rap that people claim is music but really is only loud noise. "It Might Get Loud" is for anyone that likes real music, music that comes from the heart and soul. Jack White even says something in the film about how auto tuning isn't really music, just a quick way to make a record. I agree with you Jack White, auto tuning is crap, real guitar riffs and soulful rock music is where it is at. Check this one out and don't forget the popcorn!!

The Other Man

Movie Title-- The Other Man

Release Year-- 2008

Running Time-- 1 Hour and 27 Minutes

Production Company-- Ealing Studios

Director-- Richard Eyre

Cast-- Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas, Laura Linney

Lisa (Laura Linney) reveals cryptically to her husband Peter (Liam Neeson) that she has cheated on him and the next day she disappears. This leads Peter on a path of discovery to hunt down Lisa's lover.

OK, so, this movie really starts out pretty good. The beginning of the film seemed to go into some strange flashbacks. It does seem like it is a tad bit confusing but perhaps the writer felt it was the only way to further the story. For a while it just seems choppy and awkward while the story advances.


Of course, with about thirty minutes left in the film, that is when the twist comes and after the twist, the end of the movie, which was the most disappointing part of the whole movie. As the credits starting to role, it would leave the viewer asking "what the hell just happened here?". It just seemed like a huge disappointment. The movie didn't do too much to build up to the outcome but what little build up there was in the story just fell flat on it's face at the end.


For a few big name stars, this movie was one to miss. I hate to say that because I really like Liam Neeson but he probably should have just skipped this script and moved on to the next one. If you are thinking about seeing this movie then leave me a message and I will save you the hour and a half it took to watch it and I will tell you the ending. Until next time, don't forget the popcorn!

Sherlock Holmes

Movie Title-- Sherlock Holmes

Release Year-- 2009

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 8 Minutes

Production Company-- Warner Bros. Pictures

Director-- Guy Ritchie

Cast-- Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Kelly Reilly, Hans Matheson


Based on the legendary novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Dr. Watson catch a serial killer and self proclaimed "sorcerer". After the killer's bizarre return from the grave and resumes his killing spree, Sherlock Holmes takes the case back up and has to once again return to hunting the elusive sorcerer.

I thought that this movie was excellent. I really enjoyed all the elements this film had to offer. From the acting, to the script, to the music, it was all put together to form one perfectly oiled machine that looked great on the screen. I have no idea where to start on this review, so I guess I will just start with the acting....
I think that Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law had excellent chemistry together. They seemed to play very well off each other. I am not sure that two better people could have been cast for the roles of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Robert Downey Jr., although very American has an excellent British accent in this film. almost as perfect as if he had actually been born and raised in England. The ladies of this film were nice additions as well, although they played only minor roles they looked like nice complements to the "big boys" of the film.


Another great element of this film was the soundtrack and I don't just mean the score of the film. First off, the score was excellent, Hans Zimmer did a really good job at scoring this film. Also there were a few parts in the film where all the sound would almost fade all the way out, leaving just a slight hum and those parts really kicked the film up a notch. It gave the movie a more intense feel.

The setting and period dress were both spot on. I think that the costuming was done very well, only adding to that 1890's feel, making the viewer like they are really right there. All in all, this was a very good film. I would recommend it to anyone that is looking for an action flick with some comedy added. After watching this film, I can't wait for the sequel (which is currently untitled but will be in theaters 2012) just to see what is next. This one just recently came out on DVD, pick this one up and don't forget the popcorn!

Just checking in...

Hello everyone and sorry about there being no movie review today. I just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing in essence. I assume that you have noticed that I have changed from putting the film company on the blog to putting the production company on the blog. This is because everyone can identify the production company but there are so many different film companies that you can't just look at them and decide if they are going to put out a decent film or not. Not to be bias at all but as we all know that if we see Disney has produced a film that it will probably be more geared toward the family, where as something that perhaps Focus Films has made is most likely going to be a little more racy, as it seems a lot of their stuff is more Indie like.

Also, I had meant to post a movie review everyday but I have quickly come to realize that has become a daunting task. If you include the couple of hours it takes to watch a movie and then the half hour to hour it takes to write the review (depending on how long winded I am and how many pictures I have to scour for), it becomes a large chunk of my day, then my other daily chores are pushed back and eventually it just becomes one large cluster....well, I think you know what I am trying to say. If I skip a day or two just know that I have fallen a little behind.

One last thing I would like to do is give a shout out to Netflix. Netflix has made this so much easier for me. The instant streaming on my Wii is excellent and it enables me to get so many more movies watched than it would if I had to scour my own collection or go out to the movie store to rent them. Believe it or not, this blog would be much shorter without the help of Netflix. Anyone thinking that they might get Netflix but aren't real sure if they should, I say go for it. It really is worth the money to have streaming movies anytime while waiting for you to mail you your next disc. Personally, I have been watching a lot of "Dexter" while waiting on my new discs to arrive. Netflix is helping me catch up on the shows I have always wanted to see while letting me choose what movies I want to see. I love it!

OK, now that I have checked in with ya, I am going to sign off. Today's documentary will be up tomorrow (just a day behind) and it will be called "It Might Get Loud". See you tomorrow, don't forget the popcorn!

The Black Dahlia

Movie Title-- The Black Dahlia

Release Year-- 2006

Running Time-- 2 Hours and 1 Minutes

Production Company-- Universal Pictures

Director-- Brian DePalma

Cast-- Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, Hillary Swank, Mia Kirshner


Lee Blanchard and Bucky Bleichart are two police officers that find themselves on the scene when the mutilated body of the "Black Dahlia" is found. As they strive to figure out who murdered this woman, they also find that their own lives are falling apart. First and foremost, this movie is based on a book with the same titled of the movie and that book is based off a real case in California. For anyone that doesn't really know anything about "The Black Dahlia", let me tell you a little about her. On January 15, 1947 the body of a 23 year old woman named Elizabeth Short was found in a vacant lot. Most people that passed by didn't think twice about the body laying there because it looked like a mannequin. When it was finally discovered that she was a human, the sight of her was gruesome. She was found mutilated, her body severed in the middle, drained of blood with her intestines, liver, stomach and spleen removed as well as all her reproduction organs removed as well. She was also cut from the corner of her mouth to her ear on each side. She was known as "The Black Dahlia" because of the fact that she wore black, with a large black dahlia flower in her hair. It was also a word play on the movie "The Blue Dahlia" that was released around the same time.

OK, now that you know a little about the woman, let's get to the movie. In my opinion, the movie was only OK. The only true thing about it is that it is based on Elizabeth Short's murder. The Black Dahlia case happened in 1947, so of course the movie is set in Hollywood at the end of the 1940's. I think that time period is so classy and the costumes in the film lived up to that image of "early Hollywood" glamor. The soundtrack of the film is equally glamorous, although some of the scores were a little over done for the parts of the film they put added it to. As for the acting, it was a little flat in this film. Don't get me wrong, the actors did an OK job but there didn't seem to be too much life behind the characters. The only life the characters had was the one that they showed you, they didn't really have much of a background story.


All in all, I am very sure that I won't see this film again. I wanted to see it because the real life case of the Black Dahlia was something that interested me but as for the movie, the only things about her was the fact that she was murdered and the LAPD had a field day trying to figure out the murder. The rest of the movie was pretty much crap. Watch the movie for vintage Hollywood if you have to see this one...it wasn't really interesting enough to see it for any other reason. Until next time, don't forget the popcorn!