In the Mood for Movies

Film Review: One For The Money

2012-02-05T15:01:00.001-05:00

One For The Money (2012)
starring Katherine Heigl, Jason O'Mara,
Daniel Sunjata, Debbie Reynolds

Watch the trailer for One for the Money

(source: CieonMovies)

I've never read the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, but I heard great things about the books and how funny they were. Then, I heard that the first book was being adapted to the big screen with Katherine Heigl in the lead role as Stephanie Plum. I thought sounds interesting. I like Katherine Heigl and thought I'll go see the movie first as I don't want to know too much from the book that's going on while watching it. I'll read the first book after I've seen this movie. I don't want to compare book and movie as they're two completely different versions of the same story. Books will always be much better than the films (though there are films versions that I thought were much better visually than the books). They are two separate entities. One, you can watch with visuals and the other requires your reading and imagination. I thought this film was decent, fun, and enjoyable rom-com. It was cute and funny too.

The movie was good, not great, but I still enjoyed watching it. It had some funny moments here and there. Katherine Heigl was good and funny as Stephanie Plum. I don't know if she played the protagonist character very well as aforementioned. I haven't read the book yet...From what I've seen visually, I thought she did quite well. Debbie Reynolds, on the other hand was funny as Stephanie's grandma Mazur. Her scenes were hilarious especially the Plum family dinner scene when she was playing with Stephanie's gun, lol. Jason O'Mara (never seen or heard of him before, but he's a hottie!) as Joe Morelli was cute and simply irresistible to look at! Can't blame Stephanie for not being able to resist his charms. One of his scenes with Stephanie was hilarious when he handcuffed her hand from a shower curtain bar and took her towel and left her naked, lol! Another hot guy is Daniel Sunjata who played Ranger. His name according to Stephanie sounded like "an action figure," lol. Lucky Stephanie, she's surrounded by two hot guys, yet she couldn't catch one of them, even if she tried. One is not really a catch to her, but her good friend though, the other one she just can't resist him, lol. Sherri Shepherd as the street hooker Lula was funny. The rest of the cast were good too.

Overall, One For The Money was a fun, lighthearted, little romantic-comedy kinda like Gerard Butler in The Bounty Hunter, but a fun, female version with two hot guys instead...What's not too like? Whether you've read the books or not, this was a nice lil' movie to watch.

My One For The Money film rating: (8/10; B)

Film Review: Haywire

2012-01-29T18:08:00.000-05:00

Haywire (2012)

starring Gina Carano, Channing Tatum, Ewan McGregor,

Michael Douglas, Michael Fassbender, Antonio Banderas

Watch the trailer for Haywire

(source: CieonMovies)

Synopsis
A black ops super soldier seeks payback after she is betrayed and set up during a mission.

Just recently saw Haywire and I must say it was lacklaster. Sorry, but with an impressive supporting cast, it was not that good nor great as most film critics have critically raved it about. Can't believe they give this film a high rating and the good ones they gave very low...interesting how most movie audiences disagreed with the critics (who mostly love movies that movie-goers don't like) on this one as a lot of them said they walked out even before the movie ended. I didn't and was hoping the ending will redeemed itself, but it did not. I don't know why, but I couldn't help but compare it to the far superior film Salt starring Angelina Jolie. Now, that was a great movie! Salt, this movie was not. Even Saoirse Ronan's Hanna was several miles far superior than this (Read my Film Review: Hanna) and she's a much younger actress in a lead, but Ronan's amazing as she's great and versatile character actress that can play any lead/supporting role (ie. Atonement, The Lovely Bones, Hanna) brilliantly. This film probably was a cheap and poor version of it (Salt) and tried to do those shaky camera filming, ala Bourne films style in those chase/fight scenes, which didn't impressed me in the least as those great films did.

While it's great that there's another strong female lead here much like in Underworld: Awakening (and series) with Kate Beckinsale, Saoirse Ronan in Hanna, and Salt with Angelina Jolie, the difference here was that the lead star is not well-known (not that there's anything wrong with being unknown, even if you are, if you're a good actress...you're good and it will show) as the other two popular and established aforementioned stars (Beckinsale and Jolie) with huge fan base familiar to their work. Gina Carano as Mallory Kane, while she was okay and not too bad on this film, I thought she was pretty dull, bland, and miscast in the protagonist role here as she didn't have any interesting things to say (her dialogue was quite short) or do other than do those few brutal fight scenes. Not too mention, she's a newcomer to lead an action flick like this as she's not as familiar and experienced actress as Beckinsale and Jolie. I've never seen her in other films before nor have I heard of her until after I've seen her in this film. So, I guess that's why I didn't connect with her on this one as the lead. She just didn't come across as believable in the role she played in this film. She lacked the lead star appeal, presence, and acting experience to be the lead here like Jolie and Beckinsale before her. Her voice too when she talks just sounded off like someone had dubbed her voice...it just didn't sound like her. It's not her fault she was miscast in the lead role. I just didn't see or find her character appealing nor interesting for me to invest and care for her here. I just didn't have an emotional connection with her character, who was mostly running/walking while being chased at. She did do her best (must give her credit) for a few of those that seemed like realistic fighting scenes that she did very well in this film, but even those couldn't save her wooden acting performance. She's good in fighting, but a good actress she's not. I just didn't find her acting nor her fight scenes that interesting. I don't know, it just didn't come across as believable and often times I found every scene she appeared in to be predictable as well as the anti-climactic conclusion to this film. Not too mention, the ridiculous beach scene prior to the ending scene was just not good, and Banderas at the lacklaster ending made me laugh when he said, "Shi***!* like its title, this film went haywire... lol.

This film could've been better though as Carano had a great supporting ensemble cast to support her in this film such as Channing Tatum (as Aaron...but unfortunately, I didn't find him interesting in this film at all...he just seemed off, wooden, and miscast in his part here...), Michael Fassbender (as Paul...who's always good whether he's in a good movie or not...mostly, he was in good movies I've seen him previously...even here with a small part...his brief scenes were the only good ones here, but not enough to save this film) Ewan McGregor (as Kenneth...not used to seeing him play a baddie, but he did alright here), Michael Douglas (he's always good, no complaints here even though he didn't have much screen time and wasn't sure if he was a good guy or bad guy), Antonio Banderas (he looks unflattering with his long beard here, but he still did good playing a different character here from his other films where he typically plays a good guy), and Bill Paxton (I almost didn't recognized him here, he did a good job playing Carano's dad), none of them were given much screen time though to developed their characters. Also, this film still lacked the appeal and star quality of a strong lead female character that if a different well-known and experienced actress had played the lead character of Mallory Kane (other than Carano, perhaps Piper Perabo of Covert Affairs? She's more fun and enjoyable to watch), It would've been an interesting and great film to watch.

Another thing was that this movie became stale and flat right after the unexpected (and almost interesting) Carano/Fassbender fight scene. Everything else just became stale, flat, slow, boring, and predictable. The story just was not written well nor interesting to begin with. It was underwhelming and forgettable. The jazzy music didn't help either. There was no suspense nor edge-of-your-seat, thrilling and exciting scenes to watch and follow as say Salt, Hanna, and Bourne films to name a few spy thrillers that got me hooked into watching them. The choreography on the fight scenes just seemed flat and looked to be an amateur at best. No character development for the heroine either as well as under-developed characters for the good supporting actors (Fassbender, Tatum, Douglas, McGregor, Paxton, and Banderas) in this film that they seemed like they were just in cameo appearances than in bigger or smaller supporting roles. It's ashamed, they're all good actors. Unfortunately, they were all wasted in this film. And to think an Oscar winner director Steven Soderbergh (who directed Oceans 11-13 films, Traffic, etc...then, again, I was never into his Oceans films even with Brad Pitt and George Clooney in the lead...) directed this film, was hard to believe. Poor direction and editing here on his part. Also, poor filming, editing, storyline, and acting. The confusing plot already ruined the first half of this film, too much use of unnecessary flashbacks scenes that don't really explain much.

Overall, I thought Haywire was just ok (more like a straight to DVD film than a theatrical one) and a typical agent gone rogue film I've already seen that's been done before but in a better and more superior action/spy thriller films such as Salt, Hanna, and Bourne films. Too many flaws and shortcomings in this film, just didn't do it for me. It was an action flick but with less action, predictable plot, zero explosion, no suspense, and no exitement. It didn't leave me wanting to see more. One unfortunate viewing of this film was enough. It was just an empty action flick, no spark at all. Not worth your money or time watching. Instead, watch Underworld: Awakening 3D, Contraband and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
films...now, those were fun, action films worth watching multiple times!

My Haywire film rating: (4/10; D)

Film Review: Underworld: Awakening 3D

2012-01-24T23:35:00.000-05:00

Underworld: Awakening 3D (2012)

starring Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, Theo James, India Eisly

Watch the trailer for Underworld: Awakening 3D

(source: movieclipsTRAILERS)

Synopsis

Kate Beckinsale, star of the first two films, returns in her lead role as the vampire warrioress Selene, who escapes imprisonment to find herself in a world where humans have discovered the existence of both Vampire and Lycan clans, and are conducting an all-out war to eradicate both immortal species.

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

I saw Underworld: Awakening in 3D with my younger brother and we both loved and enjoyed watching it! Awesome movie! I did not plan nor expected to see it as I've never seen the previous 3 films from the Underworld series. I've heard of it and knew Kate Beckinsale was on it except for the third one, which she was not, as it was a prequel. My brother had seen all 3 previous films prior to seeing it (I have not) and he loved them all especially the first two films. He loves Kate Beckinsale, so, of course, he would say that they were all great even the third one sans KB. Besides he paid for my movie ticket (expensive 3D and all during the opening weekend), so I might as well see it. I'm not much into vampire (or horror) movies, but if it's done very well, I make an exception to watch it like this film and a few other vampire movies such as Interview with the Vampire with Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and Van Helsing with Hugh Jackman and KB to name two. This film was great though, so it was worth watching and the money (my brother) spent watching it (with me) was not wasted at all.

Also, for someone like me who haven't seen the previous 3 films and watching the 4th one first (which I rarely do...I often avoid watching franchise films starting at the 3rd or 4th film especially if I've never seen the first one, but I've been hearing a lot of great things about this movie and the series itself...I wanted to see this movie for myself anyway, even if I have to watch it backwards as I did on this one), I really loved and enjoyed watching this film and got into it. It wasn't hard to follow and I figured out what's going on, in this film without knowing much from the previous films...which I thought was great as I didn't have a hard time understanding the story. Besides, it made me want to see the previous 3 films (as I write this, the second film, Underworld: Evolution was showing on cable, on FX channel this past weekend...I DVR'd it, so I can watch it later) after seeing this film. Not to mention, Kate's character Selene was very helpful with her narration of her character's past and present/future. So, it was easier to figure out who's who and what's what from past and present characters. Also, like Selene, I couldn't help but ask, "where's Michael?" LOL! He was there, yet he was not...he was MIA for most of the movie...he was a very mysterious hybrid (part vampire, part lycan) man, as my brother briefed me prior to seeing this film.

Underworld: Awakening was a lot of fun to watch. It was fast-paced with lots of action, cool fight scenes, great visual effects, suspense, and a kick-ass Kate Beckinsale as vampire warrioress Selene all in one movie! What's not to love! She looked great in black, tight leather outfit and trench coat! Makes me want to get myself a nice trench coat like she was wearing in the film (lol)...she makes tight leather looks so cool! Well, KB has a nice body for it, so of course, she looks amazing on it! She's in great shape too! She was very impressive, amazing and badass in this film! Nice to see a strong lead female character in an action/sci-fi film like this one. Not too mention, she looked the same from the first Underworld film (from the previews I've seen of it...will see the first movie soon...eventually) she did 9 years ago! Amazing!

This film had great casting too. Theo James who played the handsome vampire David was easy on the eyes...glad to see him not turned into a baddie...but a good ally to Selene and Eve. India Eisley as Eve (Selene's Lycan-Vampire hybrid daughter with Michael). Michael Ealy as the only human detective was another easy on the eyes and ally to Selene. He and Selene worked well together towards the end. The rest of the cast did pretty good too. As aforementioned, "where's Michael?" lol...that's my favorite line in this film...still looking for him like Selene did. He was a mysterious hybrid, indeed. The story was very good on this one and the action and fight scenes were awesome to watch in this film. They left the ending open too for a possible fifth film...let's hope so and hope Michael's on it as well (with more screen time...I didn't even see the actor who played him on this one...though I heard it was Scott Speedman who played him in the first two films). Wow, now I want to see the previous 3 films to catch up on this series even if I have to watch them backwards, lol.

That's how awesome this movie (overall all) was! Another great, unexpected (Kate Beckinsale) movie I didn't expect to love and enjoy watching (two weeks in a row) in theaters. I highly recommend you see this one, if you haven't yet! Great movie! It's currently #1 from this past weekend's Box-Office! KB's top the weekend again (last week it was her film, Contraband with Mark Wahlberg. Read my Film Review: Contraband). She's having a great 2 weeks (and month of January) at #1 (back to back) at the box-office! KB, you go girl! She's not only Beckin' it...she's Sale-in' it impressively twice to the top of the box-office! lol! It's a must-see and worth watching! Go see it! You'll love it. I know I did and I've never even seen the previous 3 films connected to this one, which I will do now after seeing this film!

My Underworld: Awakening film rating: (10/10; A+)

Film Review: Contraband

2012-01-24T18:35:00.003-05:00

Contraband (2012)
starring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale

Watch the trailer for Contraband

(source: nogoodflix)

Synopsis

Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of Contraband, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he'll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling—full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs—where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away. Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best—running contraband—to settle Andy's debt.

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

I saw Contraband and I was pleasantly surprised that it was pretty good and that I enjoyed watching it. That was quite unexpected! I had not planned to see this film and it wasn't on my Must-See Movies 2012 list to see for this year, but I'm glad I went to see it 'cause I quite liked it and enjoyed watching it at the same time. It doesn't hurt that I like Mark Wahlberg and he's easy on the eyes. Not too mention, I didn't expect to see Kate Beckinsale in this film as I didn't really see the trailer nor did I know what this film was all about other than it was a crime/action/thriller film. Though I've seen a bit of one of its TV spots for it, but it was a quick glimpse and I didn't catch enough clips of it nor saw Kate Beckinsale (until, of course, I saw the poster on display at the theaters, but hardly noticed it was her and only thought that, the woman looked like her, lol) on it, just the title and that Mark Wahlberg is the star of it. That was all I knew, which was good because it made it more interesting seeing the film as I didn't know what it was exactly about and I didn't know what was going on. I like that about a movie where it's mysterious and didn't know what to expect, and keeps you guessing on what's gonna happen next. Though I kind of figured out that the ending will be predictable, but didn't seemed to as it was done very well in this film.

Leading up towards the end, were a few twist and turns that got me immersed watching the turning point especially when Kate Beckinsale's character Kate Farraday (married to Mark Wahlberg's character Chris Farraday) got pushed and smashed her head to a mirror where blood dripped to her face! Then, the next scene or two following her ordeal with one Giovanni Ribisi's ruthless character Tim Briggs, she got knocked down even worse by her husband's best friend Sebastian, who not only betrayed her husband, but hit her...again, she got hit on the head (ouch! again, poor woman!) and lay unconscious, her head bleeding (worst) and lying presumed dead! Whoa! Kate's character went through so much torture in this film especially in a few surprising scenes. She was helpless and defenseless at the same time. You're left thinking in one of her most tragic scenes), OMG! Is she dead! Oh, no, she can't be...get up and do something...otherwise, you better run Sebastian 'cause Chris is coming to get you and will kill you like he said he would on the phone, lol.

Wow, those were two surprising climactic scenes I did not see coming, for sure. Another was when Sebastian (Ben Foster) had Kate's body in a plastic bag and dumped it at a place you didn't expect he would do so (somewhere at his construction company)!!! I thought he was gonna dumped her at a lake or river nearby, but boy, I was wrong! That was freakin sick, crazy, and scary (all at the same time) what Sebastian did (but then, again, he was high on drugs, so...) to Kate especially that she looked to be still alive and her hand was moving or something! Thankfully, Chris was desperately looking for her and calling her name and her cell phone...while Sebastian stayed still, quiet and scared...lol. Those were great scenes...loved the suspense and the actors performed those scenes very well!

Overall, I thought Contraband was a very good movie! Though the story has been done before in other films, it was a very good (visually) and very well-written story here. Great casting and it doesn't hurt that they were all pretty good and familiar actors from Mark Wahlberg to Kate Beckinsale to Giovanni Ribisi to Ben Foster. It was fast paced, with lots of action, suspense, drama, with a few interesting twist and turns, and humor to keep you watching and entertained at the same time. Mark was pretty good as Chris Farraday, a former smuggler turned businessman (he has his own Farraday security system business) with a beautiful wife, Kate Farraday, and two sons, and a young brother-in-law that got himself into trouble prompting Farraday to protect him and his family from his past dealings that his brother-in-law Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) got them into trouble with in the first place. The lovely Kate Beckinsale played Kate Farraday, Chris' wife and mother of their two sons. Interesting she played a complete opposite of her kick-ass vampire character Selene from her Underworld (which I'm going to see next...) films as she played a regular wife and mother (who should take a self-defense class after the ordeal she had been through) in this film. The rest of the cast were all pretty good including Lucas Haas (nice to see him in this film...it's been a while since I last saw a movie with him on it). I recommend you see this film, if you haven't already! It's a great, fun crime/action/suspense thriller you'll enjoy watching and will have you on the edge of your seat especially the unexpected twists and turns towards the end. Go see it!

My Contraband film rating: (9.5/10; A)

Must-See Movies 2012

2012-01-01T23:30:00.000-05:00

Here are the following films I want to see on the big screen this year (2012)!

(In random order. *All dates are subject to change)

1. Anna Karenina - ???
2. Wrath of The Titans - 3/30/12
3. The Hunger Games - 3/23/12
4. The Cold Light of Day - 4/6/12
5. The Vow - 2/10/12
6. Wonderlust - 2/24/12
7. Salmon Fishing In The Yemen - 3/9/12
8. One For The Money - 1/27/12
9. Mirror, Mirror - 3/16/12
10. Butter - 3/16/12
11. Casa de mi Padre - 3/16/12
13. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - 5/4/12
14. The Avengers - 5/4/12
15. The Dark Knight Rises - 7/20/12
16. Resident Evil: Retribution - 9/14/12
17. Skyfall (Bond film) - 11/9/12
18. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (part 2) - 11/16/12
19. The Great Gatsby - 12/25/12
20. Seeking a friend for the end of the World - ~~4/20/12~~ 6/22/12
21. Tangled Ever After (short film) - 1/13/12

More to be posted soon...

My Top 10 Favorite Films of 2011

2012-01-01T22:48:00.000-05:00

These are my Top 10 (personal) Favorite Films I've seen in theaters in the past year (2011). They are based on how much I loved the film, how many times I've seen them (whether in theaters or DVD...), and my own reviews of them (and ratings).

My Top 10 Favorite Films of 2011
(check out my Reviews of them. Click on the links to read them)

1. The Help
2. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
3. Captain America
4. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
5. Immortals 3D
6. The Adjustment Bureau
7. Hanna
8. X-Men: First Class
9. Johnny English Reborn
10. The Lincoln Lawyer

Honorable Mentions
Thor
Barney's Version
The Muppets
The Three Musketeers 3D
Just Go With It
Sucker Punch
Jane Eyre
The Big Year

Film Review: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2011-12-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

starring Tom Cruise, Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg

Watch the trailer #2 for M:I - Ghost Protocol

(source: trailers)

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

Brief Synopsis
The IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.

Just saw Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and I love, love, loved it a lot! It far surpassed my expectations as I loved and enjoyed watching all 3 previous M:I films with Tom Cruise especially the first one and the third one, but this one is my new favorite and the best in the M:I series, thus far. I was and had been waiting and anticipating for this much anticipated sequel to be made and released as soon as possible. When they announced that they were making one and casting some new actors for new characters to team up with TC's Ethan Hunt, I got excited and especially glad that Paula Patton was chosen to join the cast as I loved and enjoyed her in Precious (see my review here: Precious: Based on a novel Push by Sapphire) film as well as her other two films, Mirrors with Keifer Sutherland and Dejavu with Denzel Washington). More on Miss Patton in a bit.

I must say this 4th film was absolutely AMAZING, a lot more fun and entertaining to watch than the previous 3! It was fast paced, had plenty of action, suspense, witty dialogue, pretty cool gadgets, intense fight scenes, extreme and dangerous stunts in Dubai (particularly when he was climbing in that tallest building!) that the awesome (and still super handsome) Tom Cruise successfully pulled of, and the wonderful chemistry between him and his co-stars. This film really blow away my expectations, it delivered and didn't disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and enjoyed every moment of it. I loved this film from start to finished. Definitely one of the few best action/adventure films of 2011 I've seen.

Tom Cruise is still awesome as IMF agent Ethan Hunt. He was amazing in this film. I was amazed, very impressed, and scared all at the same time for him, with all the dangerous and extreme stunts he did on this one especially when he climbed up to the Burj Khalifa tower, the tallest building in the world. Gotta give props and kudos to him for doing such a fantastic job on this film. Hope he'll return if there's another M:I movie made after this as it won't be the same without him and won't be as awesome as this 4 M:I films had been with him in the lead. I just love him in this films.

His new co-stars and new IMF team mates in this film except for Simon Pegg as Benji (the computer expert in the team, he was in the previous film) such as Jeremy Renner as Brandt (the former field agent turned analyst turned agent again) and the lovely Paula Patton as agent Carter (a field IMF agent) were great in this film as well. They all worked very well with TC's Ethan Hunt and had a great chemistry as a team. Simon Pegg's Benji was hilarious and a comic relief in this film. Jeremy Renner's Brandt was somewhat mysterious, but interesting addition to the team. And Paula Patton's agent Jane Carter was a welcome addition to the team (and Miss Patton as the only female lead in the team was great). She was a kick ass in this film and did a great job! Love her scenes in Mumbai, India when she kept turning on Anil Kapoor's character after she pretended (well, she's undercover) to be so interested with him, but yet kept slapping and hitting him, lol.

There were so many awesome and memorable scenes in this fun, entertaining, and adventurous spy film. Here are some random, humorous scenes and memorable lines from this movie...

When Ethan's about to climb out of the window: Benji tried to give him a friendly, supportive little good luck punch in the arm but Ethan walks away. lol
"That was hard work!" when Benji returns from changing the hotel numbers. lol
Brandt saying "Next time I'll seduce the rich guy"
When Benji's face interferes with the hallway hologram scene in the Kremlin...the whole scene was hilarious!
When the sticky glove went red and died on Ethan and he had to throw it off, only for it to get stuck on the window again and dying again. lol!
When Benji told Ethan that "Blue is glue and red is dead" about the sticky gloves Ethan had to use when he was climbing that huge building in Dubai... lol.
Benji telling the security guard at the Kremlin (Egorov) he'll regret "this", lol.
Sidorov telling Ethan it wouldn't be a good idea to jump into the dumpster outside the hospital.
when Ving Rhames acted as if he were going to pay for the beer, and gave Ethan the finger instead.

And many more! Plus more amazing and unexpected return of a couple familiar faces and characters from previous M:I movies made a surprising appearance in an interesting twist towards the end...and they just made this film even more awesome and complete with its brilliant and clever continuity of including a cameo appearances of Ving Rhames (as Luther who had previously appeared in all 3 previous M:I films, so nice to see him as I was looking for him in this film, lol) and Michelle Monaghan (as Julia, Ethan Hunt's wife, who's a doctor or was she a nursed...can't remember exactly... and was prominently seen in the previous film, M:I 3). So great to see them back especially Michelle Monaghan. Love her! I really enjoyed watching her with TC in the 3rd film and I was and have kept wondering if she'll ever return for this film. I've even heard from one of her interviews that if she was ever asked to return that she'll be happy to do so whenever they want her. Unfortunately, she was never mentioned at all as returning (with Paula Patton and the other actress Léa Seydoux, who played the female baddie in this film...as the only 2 female characters prominent in this film), it proved to be unlikely, other than the mention of her character's relation to the main character Ethan Hunt and when they kept saying about her demise...and she was never shown (such as top secret too) and it made me sad...but the interesting twist towards the end surprised and made me smile and glad to see her...as it made up for her absence for most of this film and to see her apppear unexpectedly and surprisingly (they really did an amazing job keeping this a secret...I so did not see that coming! That was pretty clever!)...I was almost disappointed that she wasn't in this film and her cameo appearance in the end more than made up for it and was a great tie in and continuity from the previous film. Even though she only appeared briefly, her character's appearance was pivotal to the story of this film and it added a satisfying conclusion along with Ving Rhames character. Although the ending was left wide open for a possible 5th sequel...I at least hope that Tom Cruise would return along with the new additions to the cast (Paula Patton, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg) and Michelle Monaghan would still be a part of it as well, be it small or another cameo apearance as I love continuity and the same actors that played them in this film (more so than the previous M:I films).

Overall, M:I 4 - Ghost Protocol (such a long title to type here...) was incredible, enjoyable, entertaining, fun, and adventurous spy film. It had great set pieces, action sequences, genuinely intriguing story line, well constructed characters and great chemistry between the actors/cast, great cinematography, great pacing, plenty of action, tons of extreme and dangerous stunts, witty dialogue, great direction, and a very nice twist, references, and continuity from previous films (especially the previous film) even the original 1966 television series. I highly recommend you see this film, if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed. It's an AWESOME film and worth watching (as well as worth the money you spent to see it) be it IMAX or just regular screens! It's a MUST SEE! Go see it!

My Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol film rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2011-12-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011)
starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Noomi Rapace,
Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, Jared Harris, and Stephen Fry

Watch the trailer for Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

(source: trailers)

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

I recently saw Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (sequel to 2009's Sherlock Holmes <--- click the link to read my review!) and I must say, I loved and enjoyed watching it as much as I loved and enjoyed watching the first one. Great movie! It had all the action (plenty more in this sequel than the first), humor (mostly from Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes), fun and mysterious games between Holmes and Moriarty, great chemistry and banter between Holmes and Watson, slow-mo fight scenes, and more! This film was a lot more fun to watch too this time around. I've been waiting to see this sequel since I've heard of it being made. It was more than I expected and it didn't disappoint!

The awesome and very talented Robert Downey Jr. is back reprising his witty and very clever, genius hero Sherlock Holmes character. He was just fun and amazing to watch in this film, as usual. I love RDJ! He's such a great actor and one of those few who are just great at what they do no matter what role he plays, he's always good. Jude Law's back as well as Dr. John Watson along with two other familiar faces from the first film such as Rachel McAdams (who interestingly appeared in quite a small role, a lil' more than her supposedly brief cameo role for this film at the beginning, but her fate was left somewhat ambiguous...I wanted to see more of her though...still nice to see continuity and her) as Irene Adler and Kelly Reilly (even though she, again, didn't have a lot of screen time like the first movie, but unlike the first movie, she did appear a bit more in some important and interesting scenes and had more to do in this one. Not too mention, her character was pivotal and quite useful to Holmes and Watson towards the end...which had a very interesting twist to it) as Mary Morstan Watson, who played Law's character Watson's love interest in the first film. Their characters' wed in the second film with an interesting wedding scene where Watson, the groom and Holmes, the best man were not quite dressed up appropriately for the wedding, lol. Thankfully, the wedding ceremony took place without any odd incident for the newlyweds.

A few new interesting characters and actors added some fun and solid performances to the main characters in this film including Noomi Rapace (best known as the lead actress for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy films, which was the first and Swedish version of the same title novels adapted to the big screen...she did pretty good here) as Madam Simza, a mysterious ally to Holmes and Watson; Stephen Fry as Mycroft Holmes, older brother of Sherlock Holmes (who often calls Holmes "Sherly," and had a surprisingly funny scene, which I won't spoil here, lol); and Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty, who was the main antagonist and very fearsome adversary to RDJ's protagonist Sherlock Holmes.

There were lots of interesting, fun, and memorable scenes in this film that I really enjoyed watching such as the forest slow-mo scene where Holmes and Watson were running for their lives, the train scene (as seen in the trailer) with the newlyweds Watson and his new bride Mary with Holmes in one of his disguises, this time in a drag costume, lol. Loved his line when Watson angrily punched and yelled at him for throwing off his new bride off the train and into the river and he said, "Did you just kill my new wife?" and Holmes replied, "I timed it perfectly." LOL! Also, loved Holmes and Watson's banter and witty dialogue in this film like in one of the scenes where Holmes was looking at Watson's gun and said, "Get that out of my face!" Watson replied, "It's not in your face, it's in my hand," to which Holmes said, "Get what's in your hand out of my face!" And another one of their hilarious banter lines in a scene where Watson was watching Sherlock drinking embalming fluid and he said, "You're drinking embalming fluid?" Holmes replied and said, "Yes, care for a drop?" and the rest of their witty lines where they tried to finished each others sentences goes on like this...
Watson: You do seem...
Holmes: Excited?
Watson: Manic.
Holmes: I am.
Watson: Verging on...
Holmes: Ecstatic?
Watson: Psychotic...
Watson: I should've brought you a sedative.

LOL! I thought that was hilarious! Very clever and witty dialogue and great timing of their delivery of those funny lines by both RDJ and Law. These two really had a great on-screen, sidekick chemistry. They make a great team. I enjoyed watching them in the first movie and even more so in this sequel. They were both amazing and fun to watch in this film. Their supporting co-stars such as Noomi Rapace, Jared Harris, Kelly Reilly, Rachel McAdams, and Stephen Fry were all great too and added solid performances of their own in their individual performances. Plus the little chess match scene between Holmes and Moriarty was just brilliant and epic to watch at the same time! Very chilling and suspense!

Overall, Sherlock Holmes 2 was awesome, very entertaining and a lot of fun to watch (my kind of movie and probably more superior than the first one)! Great sequel to the first Sherlock Holmes movie! Great casting (for the newest addition and returning cast), solid and superior acting (esp. from RDJ, Law, and Harris), great writing, clever plot, suspense, with witty and memorable dialogues (including the ones I've listed above), great used of slow-mo style of some fight scenes in this film...pretty much everything.Guy Ritche did a great job directing too. Awesome cinematography and visual effects with those slow-mo fight scenes. Just all-around amazing and fun, action, suspense comedy, adventure...all in one film! I highly recommend you see it, if you haven't already especially if you loved the first movie. You'll love and enjoy this one as well...and probably even more! Go see it!

My Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn (part 1)

2011-12-30T12:55:00.000-05:00

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1) (2011)

starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene
Kellun Lutz

Watch The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1 trailer

(source: OfficialTwilightFilm)

I saw The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (part 1) and thought it was okay. No, actually, it was disappointing. Not that I expected anything out of it. It just wasn't as good as the 3rd movie or the previous 3 Twilight movies (see my previous reviews of Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse). While it's been a while since I last read (which I've only read it once too) the 4th and last book from the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, I still remember not enjoying the first half of the novel. It was already complicated and complex enough and I thought it'll be interesting how they'll translate it to the big screen. I certainly did not enjoy those scenes with Bella & Edward after they got married, honeymoon, and found out she was expecting...not what I expected when I read the novel, lol...but really it just looked too painful and just plain excruciating to see Kristen Stewart play her newlywed lead character Bella Swann Cullen turned into an unexpected pregnant young woman, who looked sickly for most of the film. She just does not look believable in the part (she never was from the very beginning), in my opinion. While she was tolerable to watch in the previous 3 films, she was not in this film. Robert Pattinson as the love of her life and her new husband Edward Cullen, on the other hand was at least still one of the few characters in this film (and in the book) that I still enjoyed watching as well as the members of his Cullen family including Alice Cullen played by the lovely Ashley Greene.

This film of course, had to end in a cliffhanger, which was typically expected. It was predictable and of course, they had to end it the way they did to resume for part 2 of the final movie of the series. It would've been nice if they just kept it as just a one whole movie instead of copying Harry Potter's final 2-part films of its long series of films. Of course, Summit did it for the same reason that they'll make more money for the final 2-part Breaking Dawn films from the Twilight fans who have been seeing this franchise's sequels (good or not) and making them more money in the box-office.

Overall, this movie was just okay and not something I'd recommend to anyone who are not fans of the series (even those who are/were, I heard were not as excited as when the first movie came out) or want to see again even on DVD or Netflix. Just one time is enough. Even that, I almost didn't make it through the cliffhanger. I just didn't enjoy this film (as sequels to Twilight series, oddly, seems to deteriorate as it gets closer to its end). I mostly watched it just to see how the visuals will show the end of this Twilight series. Honestly, I enjoyed reading the books more than I enjoyed watching the films. While, I liked the first Twilight movie and the third one, Eclipse. This and New Moon are my least favorite from the sequels. If I haven't read the books and enjoyed them as I did, I probably wouldn't have bothered watching the films, but I did because I still wanted to see (visually) how this series ends in these final 2-part films. I will, most likely see part 2 just to see how they show the ending for this series.

My The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (part 1) film rating: ! (6/10; C-)

Film Review: The Muppets

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Muppets (2011)
starring Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Kermit, The Frog, Miss Piggy, Rashida Jones

The Muppets brief synopsis:

Love struck meets star struck when a small town couple (Amy Adams, Jason Segel) head to Hollywood and discover their dreams of hitting the big time may cost them the one thing that matters most – each other.

Watch The Final Muppets Parody Trailer

(source: MuppetsStudio)

Watch The Muppets - Official trailer!

Check out the other previous The Muppets parody trailersThe Muppets - Taking over Bollywood The Muppets - Green With Envy Teaser

The Muppets - The Pig With The Froggy Tattoo Teaser Trailer

(spoofs The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

The Muppets - Being Green Teaser (spoofs The Green Lantern) The Muppets - Fuzzy Pack Teaser (spoofs The Hangover)

The Muppets was a fun, feel good movie. I loved and enjoyed watching it. It was great to see The Muppets back on the screen especially Kermit, The Frog and Miss Piggy. I really enjoyed watching the teaser and parody trailers (see links above) for this film. I love the new character Walter as well as Jason Segel as Gary and Amy Adams as Mary (even though she wasn't much in this film, but it was still nice to see her here). The opening song and dance number was cute and the song was catchy too. I couldn't help but sing (even long after the credits rolled...) "I got everything I needed... Life is a happy song when you have someone by your side to sing along...." That part of the song was pretty catchy and was stuck in my head, lol. Also, I enjoyed watching Amy Adams' little solo singing performance in the film along with Miss Piggy.

Overall, The Muppets was a delightful and fun movie to watch with the whole family. It had a very good story, great casting (especially for the leads Jason Segel and Amy Adams), musical numbers, visuals, and various cameos (ie. Jack Black, Whoopi Goldberg, Selena Gomez, Alan Arkin, Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Neil Patrick Harris, etc.). Interesting both Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin had previously co-starred with Amy Adams in Sunshine Cleaning. This is a nice, fun movie to see this holiday season. Go see it with everyone in the family, if you haven't already!

My The Muppets film rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Immortals 3D

2011-12-27T15:59:00.001-05:00

Immortals (2011)

starring Henry Cavill, Frieda Pinto, Stephen Dorff,
Luke Evans, Isabel Lucas, Kellan Lutz,
and Mickey Rourke

Watch the trailer #3 for Immortals

(source: movieclipsTRAILERS)

Watch Henry Cavill as Theseus in Immortals - Featurette

(source: ClevverMovies)

Just recently saw Immortals (in 3D!) and I loved and enjoyed watching it. For one, I was excited to see it all because of Henry Cavill starring on this film, his first lead starring role. I first saw Henry in when he was a teenager playing Jim Caviezel's son The Count of Monte Cristo years ago. I've always wondered when will he get his chance to play in a leading role. He had done mostly small and supporting roles in the past decade of his career. He's such a handsome young man and even then he could act. I got to see Henry as Charles Brandon in some Season 1 episodes of Showtime's The Tudors and he was great on it (even though he was playing a supporting role next to another handsome guy Jonathan Rhys Meyers as King Henry). I thought he definitely should be in more starring roles. The casting of him as Clark Kent/Superman in Zach Snyder's upcoming Man of Steel film made me even more excited and happy for him as he's finally getting his big break. Then, I heard he already was starring in another film, this film, which I just saw...Immortals (kind of like 300, but not really...) and it was released before MOS. That made me excited as I thought I will get to see him in a starring role. The first trailer for this film made me even more excited to see Henry in this film and he didn't disappoint.

Immortals was an awesome film. I even loved and enjoyed watching it more than I did with 300 film (starring Gerald Butler), which was interesting to know that the same producers for 300 produced this film too. Henry Cavill was amazing and stunningly handsome in this film (shirtless or not, lol...). He was superb and looking and acting more like Superman (which is his upcoming biggest role that is already making me excited and can't wait to see him) as Theseus in this film. I kept thinking of him as Superman (much more than as Theseus, lol). He really did look and acted like one especially in his awesome fight scenes. He was super heroic in this film. I love watching him in every scene he was in especially when he was using that magical bow to rescue his friends and the oracle (played by the lovely Frieda Pinto). He was the best and most amazing thing about this film. I can't wait to see him in MOS already! Is it June 14, 2013 yet? LOL!

The rest of the cast were great too such as Mickey Rourke as the murderous villain King Hyperion. Luke Evans as the powerful God, Zeus, Kellan Lutz as one of the gods, Poseidon, Isabel Lucas as Zeus' daughter Athena, Frieda Pinto as Phaedra, the Oracle (that King Hyperion was looking for besides the magical bow), and Stephen Dorff as Stavros. Great casting and the visuals (though it's kind of darker in most scenes) were stunningly festive especially on 3D. Tarsem Singh did a great job directing.

Overall, I thought Immortals was great! It was fast paced with plenty of action and the fight scenes were awesome (though too bloody or gory for the eyes, but that was expected as the fight scenes and battles were pretty intense). Great job on the fight sequences and visual effects too! Most of all, shirtless Henry Cavill was super eye candy and fun to watch. Love his angry lines including this one, "seal the gates and prepare for war!" and his best and memorable line (which stayed with me even long after the credits rolled and several weeks later as I write this review) in the film, "Stand your ground! Fight for order! Fight for the man beside you! Fight for those who bore you! Fight for your children! Fight for your future! Fight for your name to survive! Fight! For immortality!"

My Immortals film rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: The Three Musketeers 3D

2011-11-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Three Musketeers in 3D (2011)

starring Matthew Macfadyen, Luke Evans, Ray Stevenson,
Logan Lerman, Milla Jovovich, Orlando Bloom,
Christoph Waltz, and Juno Temple

Watch the trailer #2 for The Three Musketeers

(source: SummitScreeningRoom)

I saw The Three Musketeers in 3D on its opening day (Oct. 21st). This had been one of my anticipated films (and is listed in my Must-See Movies 2011 list of movies this year) and with Matthew Macfadyen playing Athos, one of the good guys in 3 Musketeers and Milla Jovovich (who I quite enjoyed watching in Resident Evil movies) was playing a cunning bad girl Milady de Winter, for a change. I had been looking forward to seeing this movie since I heard of their casting. I've been following it too on my P&P Blog right here.

I must say that this movie was good, but not great. I was disappointed that it wasn't an amazing movie that I expected it to be as I had high expectations for this film especially with such talented ensemble cast and the director who directed RE movies that I've enjoyed watching. I guess I expected too much. Still, It was good and I enjoyed watching this film for what it was. It was fun and entertaining to watch though. Matthew Macfadyen as Athos was the highlight and the best thing to watch for me in this film. I loved and enjoyed watching every scene he was in and hearing his beautiful voice as the narrator of this film. I was pleasantly surprised that in the opening scene (and the first 5 minutes), the first thing I heard was his beautiful voice (as a narrator in this film) and first character/musketeer I've seen was his character, who leads the 3 Musketeers. I thought that was very cool! Matthew Macfadyen was excellent in this film. He did great in his narration (kudos to the director and producers for letting him narrate in this film...his voice is just beautiful to listen to!), acting, and fight scenes. I loved his one-liners in this film too such as "D'Artagnan, you want to be a musketeers? This is your chance." "It was an off-day" and "Round Two." and the way he said "Bukingham," sounded like "Wickham" (the character from his P&P movie), lol...The supporting cast did very good too like the other two musketeers Luke Evans as Aramis and Ray Stevenson as Porthos. Logan Lerman was a good D'Artagnan and the girl (Gabriella Wilde) who played his love interest, Constance. They were very cute together. Milla Jovovich was pretty good as the female villain, for a change. I enjoyed watching her fight scenes, but didn't like her when she betrayed and broke one of the Musketeers' heart...lol. Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (Inglorious Basterds) as the cardinal was pretty good here even though he was playing a small role. Orlando Bloom as Duke of Buckingham was okay. Though it was interesting to see him play a supporting role where he was not a good guy, for a change. The actor Freddie Fox (interesting he appeared in MM's Any Human Heart miniseries and Talulah Riley's St. Trinians 2 movie...he's now a frequent P&P co-star, lol) who played King Louis XIII of France reminded me of Simon Woods who played Mr. Bingley in one of my favorite films to watch (of all time), Pride & Prejudice (2005) film. He was funny in this movie, lol. James Corden, who played Planchet, the 3 Musketeers' servant was funny in this film.

While the story was typical and just okay, the cinematography, fight scenes, and visual effects were all great in this movie. Overall, this film was still fun and enjoyable to watch. After all, It's purely for fun and entertainment and not meant to be an Oscar winning film.

My The Three Musketeers 3D Film Rating: ! (8.5/10; B+)

Film Review: Johnny English Reborn

2011-11-05T00:52:00.003-04:00

Johnny English Reborn (2011)
starring Rowan Atkinson, Rosamund Pike, Gillian Anderson, and Dominic West

Watch the trailer for Johnny English Reborn

(source: trailers)

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

Brief synopis (via IMDB):
Rowan Atkinson returns to the role of the accidental secret agent who doesn't know fear or danger in the comedy spy-thriller Johnny English Reborn.

I saw this movie with my mother and we thought it was hilarious. We loved and enjoyed watching this film. It had plenty of laughs and action to keep you watching and entertained from beginning to end.

Rowan Atkinson is back and is as clumsy (and hilarious) as ever as the bumbling MI-7 agent Johnny English in this fun and hilarious sequel to the 2003 Johnny English film. I thought this film was so much better and was a lot more funnier than the first one. There were a lot of funny and action scenes to keep you watching as there were combinations of James Bond and Bourne films parodies in this film mix with plenty of action and comedy. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I really enjoyed watching Rowan Atkinson more in this film than the first one. There were several funny scenes that made us laughed a lot like when Johnny was in the shrinking/going up chair scene (with funny lines: "He's the Prime Minister...yeah, you wish." and "give me 24 hours." ....it made us laugh so hard, lol), the Tibet/Monk scenes (English was hilarious whenever he loses focus or concentration to the task he was doing, haha!), the scene where he chewed the gum and his voice changed, lol. Whenever he hears "Mozambique," he makes a funny face and one of his eyes twitches...lol. The scenes whenever he tries to catch the "vacuum cleaner killer" (aka the old Chinese lady, whose an assassin/spy...to which he ends up catching the wrong person as she was pretty clever and too fast and too confusing for him to catch, haha!) was so hilarious. Also, I enjoyed the hilarious Bourne-sque action/fight scenes at the beginning of English with the Chinese guy who stole one of the vortex keys...their fight and chase scenes in Hongkong, China were hilarious. The whole chase scene where the guy climbs down the fences and scaffolding, while English takes the elevator. Then, the guy jumps into a little boat, while English takes a yacht. Also, before the chase scene, when English thought he got him, but he escaped and jumped right through him without him even noticing it, hahaha! OMG, that was hilarious!!! The plane scene where agent Tucker was telling him that the guy had a name tag that said "Susan," but English said, "you must not be linguistic because that name is pronounced 'Shu-san'" or something close to it, lol. There were more funny scenes, but that would be telling you the whole movie, wouldn't it? And I've pretty much spoiled you with writing some hilarious scenes here, lol.

As for the supporting cast, Rosamund Pike as Kate Sumner, a behavioral Psychologist and love interest to Johnny English was pretty good in her supporting role and she was a nice addition to the whole new cast of JER. It was very good to hear her British accent again (I was getting used to hearing her American accent in her other films that I've seen, which were just released recently/this year such as The Big Year, Burning Palms, and Barney's Version). Gillian Anderson (Pegasus, I think that was her name if I remember right, as that's what they call her, lol) was good here too as the new MI-7 boss of English. Daniel Kaluuya as agent Tucker was funny in some scenes with English especially the helicopter scene.

Overall, I thought Johnny English Reborn was pretty good and hilarious! Rowan Atkinson was really funny on this one and actually made me laugh. The opening title sequence was quite Bond-esque and impressive at the same time. The score was very good too, which interestingly fits the opening sequence. The pacing was very good in this film as we hardly noticed the time. The visual gags in the film was also quite impressive. The fight and chase scenes were awesome and humorous at the same time. Other standout sequences include English on a gadgetpowered wheelchair racing down the streets of London, along with themajority of action scenes. The Rolls-Royce car with a voice recognition and the shrinking chair gag in MI-7, also added more fun and humor to this film. I recommend you check out and see this movie especially if you love Rowan Atkinson/Mr. Bean as well as if you get the British humor (which I'm finding more and more hilarious these days than the recent American humor/comedy films that were mostly unfunny...this movie and most especially the original Death at a Funeral film made me LOL a lot). I must say this was one of the few funniest films I've seen (thus far) in theaters this year. I guess because I've mostly seen mostly suspense/thriller/comic book films, so this one was a nice change. Not too mention, I thought this movie was a lot more funny than some high school/teen comedies (American Pie), adult comedies (ie. The Hangover, etc.), and rom-coms, etc.

My Johnny English Reborn Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: The Big Year

2011-10-29T01:08:00.000-04:00

The Big Year (2011)
starring Jack Black, Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, Rosamund Pike,
Rashida Jones, Angelica Huston, JoBeth Williams, Brian Dennehy, and Diane Wiest

Watch the trailer for The Big Year
(source: Watchanapple2011)

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

I saw The Big Year and guess what? I actually quite enjoyed watching it. Though I expected it to be really funny with the big trio lead stars of Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Steve Martin, but it was only kind of funny and more of a dramatic kind of film with a nice story and interesting ensemble cast to go with it, which I didn't mind in the least. It was still a very good movie about "bird watching" which I didn't know (and never heard of until I've heard this movie was being made and Rosamund Pike was cast, the main reason along with the trio actors aforementioned, which I was actually interested and went to see this movie) as a sport for those bird lovers. The title of this film now made sense after seeing this movie. While it lacks a lot of humor I expected to see in this film especially with the trio of Wilson, Black, and Martin, it still had its funny and a few LOL moments here and there that made me laugh. The movie though was still a very good "bird-watching" as a sport film, which is interestingly, different than your typical sporting genre movies. This one's not really a sport movie, but about three avid bird watchers who compete to spot the rarest birds in North America at a prestigious annual event (brief description via IMDB).

I was pleasantly surprised that this movie was not a comedy, but rather a little mix of comedy and a little more on the drama, but mostlyit's a movie with heart and moral lesson. Interestingly, Jack Black's character Brad Harris is a nice character and will tug at your heart...well, at least, alittle... Steve Martin's character Stu Preissler was quite nice and at times funny as well. Loved his character's line when he said to Brad about Owen Wilson's character Kenny Bostick (who was actually the opposite and rivals of both Black and Martin's characters in this movie), "lets get this SOB and win!" or something like it, LOL! Love that this movie also focused on other supporting characters connected to the main 3 characters. Rosamund Pike, who played Jessica, Kenny's neglected wife, was pretty good in her supporting role and scenes. She actually appeared more here than I expected (especially with a big ensemble cast like this film). I felt for her character though. Poor Jess, all she wanted was to start a family with her husband and all her husband seemed to care about was doing another "big year." He does not deserved her, but she still loved him. Interesting, her character's side story has been shown a lil' more in connection to Kenny, but towards the end, they didn't show her at all or what she was up to. That was a letdown for her character, but I'm guessing she probably ended up with that handsome looking guy who did the renovations to hers and Kenny's house. I wouldn't be surprised if she did. He's a hottie and is always around when Kenny was not, lol. Brian Dennehy and Diane Wiest (she was funny in the scene with her son Brad as she tried to help him with his "big year") played Jack Black character's parents. They were pretty good in their supporting roles. JoBeth Williams, who played Steve Martin's wife did good too in her small supporting role. Love her scenes in Paris overlooking the Eiffel Tower! (I've been there, so I thought it was nice to see it in this movie and thought to myself, yeah, I've been there! lol). Rashida Jones did good with her scenes with Jack Black...though I was not too fond of her "bird imitations" after hearing her doing it more than a few times (but that's just me...). Angelica Huston was only seen briefly, but she was good, mean, and kinda funny when you see her brief scenes. Kevin Pollack and Joel McHale (of NBC's Community) were funny on their scenes with Steve Martin. Jim Parsons and Anthony Anderson both appeared briefly, but you'll still remember they were in this movie especially Anthony Anderson as Jack Black's character's boss. And Paul Campbell (who I kept thinking he looks familiar and that I've seen him before...I immediately looked at his IMDB filmography and sure enough, I've seen him recently on an instant watch movie on Netflix in the romantic-comedy movie Play the Game (2009)), who played Steve Martin's son Tony was not seen much in this movie, but he's handsome and easy on the eyes to look at, at his brief scenes, lol.

Overall, I thought this film was pretty good. It was beautifully shot and nicely edited. It had a lovely scenery, nice ensemble cast, anda wonderful music too. This is a must-see movie mostly for bird lovers, but it's also a nice movie for those who are not, like myself. I quite enjoy watching this movie for what it was and its ensemble cast (esp. Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Steve Martin and the always lovely and wonderful Rosamund Pike, even though she wasn't seen much or interacted with the other main and supporting cast/characters except for Wilson...it was still great seeing her in this movie).

My The Big Year Film Rating: ! (7.5/10; C+)

Film Review: The Help

2011-08-25T18:31:00.000-04:00

The Help (2011)
starring Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer,
Bryce Dallas Howard, Jessica Chastain

Watch the trailer for The Help

(source: hollywoodstreams )

Before I saw this film, I've only seen the movie poster, a few of the cast seen in the movie poster, and the title. That's all I know. I didn't even see the trailer or preview clips (as I often does before seeing a film) or anything. I've never heard of the movie nor read the book until upon seeing this movie on its first opening weekend. I've heard great things about it though when it was released and I had to see it for myself as sometimes people can say it's really good, but it's not really until you see it for yourself. I'm very glad I did and even more glad I didn't know much or what the movie was all about. I didn't have any expectations other than to enjoy the film for what it was. It was really good. No, wait! It wasn't just good it was amazing! Definitely a must-see and one of the few best films I've seen this year (thus far) that I didn't expect I'd loved and enjoyed watching so much. It was all that and more! A beautiful film that I didn't expect or saw coming, which is quite rare and comes only once (or twice) every year...when it comes out of nowhere and just surprises and amazes you at the same time of how awesome the film was and everyone was/is still (and can't stop) talking about it and how great it was after seeing it. This film was/is exactly IT! Everything was great about it and just entertained and moved me at the same time. The story was very well-written and adapted brilliantly on-screen (even though I've never read the book, which I'm gonna have to now after seeing this film). There were plenty of humor to keep you entertain and drama to intrigue and keep you interested in watching it. It was just brilliant. It made me laugh, cry, sad, smile, laugh, cry, sad, smile, laugh...and so on from beginning to end. The ensemble cast were just outstanding and gave a strong and fantastic performances each from the main cast to the supporting cast whether they had a big role or small role. Everyone did an amazing job! Viola Davis gave a very moving and Oscar-worthy performance. She was brilliant and amazing in this film. She should definitely get an Oscar nomination on her leading role as Aibileen Clark. She gave a powerful and emotional performance in this film. She made me cry and also made me smile and laugh at the same time. Octavia Spencer, who played Minny Jackson (Aibileen's best friend and fellow maid/help worker) was simply amazing, fun, and hilarious in this film. She made me laughed so hard, but also made me sad in a few of her scenes, but mostly made me LOL a lot especially in the big reveal of her pie scene with the very mean and intimeditating Miss Hilly Holbrook played brilliantly by Bryce Dallas Howard. She plays this type of role/character so well. She was really convincing and makes you want to slap her every time she opens her mouth or something, lol. Not too mention, you cheer along with the other characters she victimized or she did wrong when she finally got what was coming to her, which she certainly deserves. And karma's a biatch when you do bad things to other people, it haunts and bites your right back when you less expected or didn't see it coming, lol. And it was fun to see her squirmed, scream, yell and gets what's coming to her, haha! The pie scene with her and Minny was hilarious, lmao! This scene was the funniest scene in the film. I can't help but laughed so hard. It was just clever and hilarious. I kept wondering what Minny was going to do with the pie (she was carrying) to Hilly when she stopped by to her house after she was let go and she apologized. I kept thinking what was she going to do with it? Was she going to slap her with it, throw it to her face, or poison her with it (etc.)? But, to my surprise, none of them occurred, lol. Instead something different and hilarious happened to Hilly and the pie incident that just cracked me up when I saw/found out about it and whenever I think of the scene. It was just so hilarious.

Emma Stone as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan was great in her part too. She was funny and just did wonderful in this film. Jessica Chastain (I hardly recognized her in this film, she was so great I didn't see her but the character she played!) who played the delightful Celia Foote was fun and endearing to watch. Her character was the opposite and a sharp contrast to antagonist characters like Miss Hilly and her posse that includes Elizabeth (though she was at times sympathetic, but she was not as likable as Celia was nor did I feel sorry for her as she was as bad as her BFF Hilly...I felt bad more for her neglected toddler daughter than I ever did for her). Also, Celia was the one (and probably the only one) white employer that Minny didn't expect she'd love and enjoy working for. They bonded and helped each other out esp. on tough times each had struggled personally (though in different situations, but both felt similar pain nonetheless in what each character had gone through...they were both humans, after all no matter what race or culture they live in...). The rest of the supporting cast such as vets like Sissy Spacek (she was so funny in this film) as the mother of the mean Miss Hilly, Alison Janey (she was great, funny, and made you cry at the same time as well) as Skeeter's mom, Mary Steenburgeen (even in her small role, she was still pretty good) as the publisher of Skeeter (as well as Aibileen/Minny and the rest of the "Anonymous" help contributors)'s book (which was also the title of this film), and Cicely Tyson (she was just simply amazing, moving, and inspiring in this film...finding out about her character's tragic demise was just so sad and heart-wrenching...) as Constantine, Skeeter's family's long-time maid and beloved nanny growing up...were all equally solid, strong, and outstanding in their performances. Even the lil' girl that Aibileen was taking care of did a great job herself and was just too cute for words. I loved and enjoyed watching everyone in this film. Tate Taylor, the director of this film did a superb job writing the screenplay and adapting it as well as directing his cast and bringing out strong performances from each of them, making this film just all-around amazing to watch. The period costumes were great too, the visual was stunning, the attention to that period detail of that time as does the inspirational song you'll hear when the end credits roll.

Overall, The Help is deeply moving, very sad yet inspiring, filled with humor and hope. It's a must-see, worth-watching, entertaining, and superb film with lots of strong performances by its outstanding ensemble (of mostly an all-female) cast! I highly recommend you see it if you haven't already done so! Don't miss out! Go see it!

My The Help Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: Captain America

2011-08-06T13:55:00.003-04:00

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

starring Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Tommy Lee Jones,
Hugo Weaving, Richard Armitage

Watch the trailer for Captain America

(source: TheTubeTrailers)

Just saw Captain America and what a terrific movie it was! I loved and enjoyed watching it. Everything about it was great. The story was very well written. It was quite fast pace (except for the beginning, it was kinda slow, but as soon as the action parts start, it was fast paced)! It had plenty of action, somewhat of a romance (or at least a hint of it from the two main lead characters...), and some humor to keep you entertained. Love the period feel and look of the whole film with a lil' bit of modern feel towards the end. Great direction, cinematography, costumes, and special effects. Great casting too! The cast of this film was just awesome! Every actor in this film fits his/her role/character wonderfully. A few familiar British actors were cast in this film were all great such as Hayley Atwell as agent Peggy Carter, Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark (Tony Stark aka Iron Man's father). Dominic has quite a good American accent. And Richard Armitage was almost unnoticeable at first until Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) turned into Captain America and chased him. He played the bad guy really well here! Not quite the handsome and good guy I remember him as John Thornton in North & South, but he was still pretty good. Chris Evans (he looks a lil' bit like Channing Tatum here when he turned into Captain America), the lead star as skinny Steve Rogers turned into the title role, Captain America did very impressive here with his skinny turned hottie title character. He looks different as skinny guy who suddenly transformed into Captain America.

Chris Evans was quite funny as the skinny guy and handsome as CA! Loved the scene when he turned into a big muscle man, which he quickly got his abs into an amazing shape! Not too mention, he was shirtless with his sudden sexy body showing him bare chested, which agent Carter was like about to touched his fab abs, bare chested and all, but quickly decided not to (as everyone was watching) and had to stop herself, lol. Clever and funny scene! I would've certainly touched his big, sexy bare chested body, if I were her, even with people watching, haha! Hayley Atwell did great in her role as agent Carter and Steve Rogers/Captain America's love interest. Another good scene she was in was when she surprised both Stark and Captain America with her shooting skills, lol. Also, when she caught Steve kissing another woman...she just interrupted them and told him...he was stunned as she caught him off-guard, lol. Tommy Lee Jones (love his line, "Look at him, he's making me cry," lol) was good, as usual as well as Stanley Tucci. Didn't expect to see both them in this movie. Both great actors! Too bad, Stanley Tucci had a small role, but his character had served its purpose and had an important part to the story. Sebastian Stan, who played Steve's best friend James "Bucky" Barnes was good too and very cute! Sad to see something unexpected happen to his character. And Hugo Weaving was bad ass as the villain. The only thing I didn't really like was his character turning into a red skull. It looked rather silly, lol. Other than that, he was a good villain.

Overall, I thought Captain America was great! A must-see! I highly recommend you see it. It was one of the few best movies I've seen this year, thus far. Definitely worth watching! Go see it!

My Captain America: The First Avenger Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: X-Men: First Class

2011-07-13T22:33:00.002-04:00

X-Men: First Class

starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne,

Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult

Watch the trailer for X-Men: First Class

(source: ClevverMovies)

I saw this movie recently with friends. I didn't even plan to see this as I wasn't interested in watching a reboot of the X-Men movies after seeing the previous three. Why remake it or make an origin movie with mostly unknown actors? Well, I do know or rather recognized a few actors (James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, and Kevin Bacon) in this one, but still...I wasn't sure if I would watch it until this movie was released and I've heard good things about it. So, me and my friends thought...we'll maybe we should try and see it and judge for ourselves and we did. Glad we did as it was actually, surprisingly pretty good. We didn't expect to loved and enjoyed watching it. This film was made very welll. The ensemble cast were super and great! A lot of them were unknowns with a few familiar actors (as aforementioned) I've seen in other films. There were a couple of wonderful and unexpected cameos from two very familiar characters from previous X-Men films. Very nice and clever to have them pop in and out, out of nowhere and surprising the audience with their interesting cameo appearance in scenes you never expected to see them. Very interesting! I won't say who they are or it'll ruin the cameo surprise (for those who still haven't seen this movie), you'll just have to see this movie to find out for yourself. They were worth watching in their cameos in this movie even for a second or minute there or so. The story was very well written, tied up and connected to the previous X-Men films. You actually get to know and see the characters from their origin, their younger years before they assembled and became what we've already known of them to be as the super-powered mutants aka the X-Men. It was fun and interesting to see them discover they have super powers and to see them learning to use them. James McAvoy as Prof. Charles Xavier (and now I know where the "X" on "X-Men" name came from...very interesting to know) and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr (aka the very powerful Magneto) were both brilliant and amazing in this film. Fassbender was just very impressive to watch as the mysterious Erik turned Magneto. Love his French and Spanish accents! He's very easy on the eyes too! Both Fassbender and McAvoy were awesome to watch and just fits into their iconic characters so well. I totally saw them as the younger characters played older in the X-Men films by their older counterparts originally played by Patrick Stewart (Prof. Xavier) and Ian McKellan (Magneto). Great casting in these two (McAvoy and Fassbender)! The other cast were great too especially Jennifer Lawrence as the young Raven aka Mystique (love her changing forms) and Nicholas Hoult as the young Scientist Hank McCoy turned Beast (he looks familiar and now, I remember seeing him when he was a young boy in About A Boy with Hugh Grant. Wow, he's all grown up and looks handsome too!) and loved seeing the demonstrations of their characters' super powers. Kevin Bacon was badass as Sebastian Shaw, the villain here. He was just great as the bad guy in this film. He's very convincing in his villain role.

Overall, X-Men: First Class was a very good movie. My friends and I loved and enjoyed watching it. We were pleasantly surprised that it was actually pretty good. I highly recommend you see this, if you haven't already especially if you're an X-Men fan (or even if you're not). You won't be disappointed. The surprise cameos alone were worth watching. Go see it!

My X-Men: First Class Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Something Borrowed

2011-07-13T16:30:00.001-04:00

Something Borrowed (2011)

starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, John Krasinski

Watch the trailer for Something Borrowed

(source: trailers)

I knew this was a typical rom-com and predictable movie before I even saw it. I didn't even need to read the book (this was based on) to know what I already know it was, but I went to see this film anyway. It was what I thought anyway, but it wasn't too bad. There were a few funny and entertaining moments here and there, but the length of time was a lil' longer than it should. I thought it was a drag like you really want it to get to the point and ending already. The story was descent and a lil' slow to get to the point. The cast were good, but not really likable enough for me to root for them except for John Krasinski's character Ethan. He was the only one likable character that made me laugh and I felt sympathy for. The lead character Rachel (played by Gennifer Goodwin), while I like her and thought she and Dex are cute together, I just don't think she was a strong enough character for me to root for. She's not perfect, but still, she's not the character you'd side for after she betrayed her friend Darcy (I like her name...that's about it...her name reminds me of my favorite Mr. Darcy of Pride & Prejudice, lol) by sleeping with her man. Not that Darcy (played by Kate Hudson) was any better or a good friend, but at least her character's not supposed to be someone you'll like in the first place. Still, she does not deserved to be betrayed by her best friend. Though, on the other hand, I don't blame Rachel either, Darcy hasn't been a very good friend to her. Rachel should not have let her treat her like she's her pet or toy she can use any time she feels like or only when she needs something. Besides, Dex actually has liked Rachel from the very beginning, but it was Rachel who was taking so long to hook up with him that Darcy snagged him away from her before she could get to him. Basically, she was slow and she let her friend Darcy took advantage of what could've been hers in the first place. It took her, her 30th birthday before she did the unexpected. Not that Darcy deserved Dex anyway (as she's the worst best friend Rachel had to endure with in the first place), but still he was engaged to her and he and Rachel knew better. The rest, well...it pretty much took a while before these two (Rachel & Dex) finally got together and the ending was predictable. There was at least one hilarious scene that was worth watching in this movie, the tennis scene where Ethan was tryng to get Rachel and Dex to come out with their secret affair and he was torturing Dex to come clean about it to Darcy, lol. That scene was at least funny.

Overall, Something Borrowed was just okay. It's not the worst I've seen, but it's not a movie I would see again. Once is enough, I'm afraid. It just didn't do anything for me that will make me want to see it again and again.

My Something Borrowed Film Rating: ! (6/10; C-)

Film Review: Thor

2011-07-13T15:47:00.002-04:00

Thor (2011)

starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Rene Russo

Watch the trailer for Thor

(source: soman4567 )

When I went to see this film, I've only seen the trailer and didn't know much about it. So, I didn't know what to expect. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to see it, but I was curious and of course, with Natalie Portman in it and after hearing good reviews about it, I went to see this film. I must say, I'm glad I did because I was pleasantly surprised that it was pretty good. Though, it was a lil' slow at the beginning, but once the story progressed, it got better and better. The story was very well written. Great direction by Kenneth Branagh! The cast were pretty good as well including Chris Hemsworth who played the title role, Thor. Natalie Portman played the Scientist Jane Forster (love interest of Thor) was good here as well. Anthony Hopkins was great as usual. Nice to see Rene Russo in this film, even in a small role. It's been a while since I have seen her in the big screen. The rest of the cast were just as good! There were some humor along the way too to keep me watching and entertained.

Overall, Thor was a lot of fun to watch and it was pretty good. I enjoyed watching it. I recommend you see it, if you haven't yet. Great movie!

My Thor Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Hanna

2011-04-21T23:30:00.003-04:00

Hanna (2011)

starring Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander

Watch the trailer for Hanna

(source: hollywoodstreams)

I just saw Hanna recently and thought it was AWESOME! This was one of the few films I've been following and anticipating to see since I heard one of my favorite directors Joe Wright was directing it with an outstanding and talented cast in Saoirse Ronan (leading the cast in the title role) with Eric Bana, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander, and Olivia Williams. This film was all that and more! It was much more than I expected and far surpasses my expectations. It definitely delivered, both the film and its actors' strong and solid performances.

Hanna (Ronan) is a teenage girl. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts of a soldier; these come from being raised by her father (Bana), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Finland. Living a life unlike any other teenager, her upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. (brief Hanna synopsis by Focus Features via IMDB)

Now, this was a brilliant, clever, entertaining, full of action, adventure, mystery, that has you on the edge-of-your-seat, suspense thriller, with humor film all in one, that I've seen in a long time. It was like a mixture of Leon: The Professional (featuring the young Natalie Portman) and the Bourne movies (starring Matt Damon) with a fairytale theme (ie. Little Red Riding Hood, but more like Hansel and Gretel, which I think if I remember right, was one of the bedtime stories by the Grimm Brothers that young Hanna was read to by her father Erik) to it. This is one of the films I loved and enjoyed watching this year...thus far. The story was great, brilliant, and cleverly written. Director Joe Wright did a fantastic job directing this film. The original score throughout the film composed by The Chemical Brothers were quite interesting, haunting, hypnotic, and addictive to listen to. It's very catchy and stays in your head even after the movie ended.

The cast were excellent and their performances were top notch, all-around strong and outstanding. Academy Award nominee Saoirse "Hanna" Ronan was amazing in the title role. Love her catchy and very clever one-liner line, "I just missed your heart," which she said twice in the film and another funny one-liner, "three bullets," lol. She was very impressive and delivered a strong, solid, consistent performance from the first moment her strong, independent title character appeared on-screen all the way through the last scene of the film. She owned and carried the film very well all on her own with her superb, top notch acting, for such a young age. She never fails to amazed me...and she's only 16 (17 now...she just had her birthday recently on April 12th) and is already matured, smart, and clever for her age. Such a terrific young actress too. Ronan was surrounded by an amazing and very talented supporting cast too. Eric Bana, who played Hanna's former CIA agent father Erik, was great especially when he was meticulously training Hanna to gain stamina, strength and survival instincts to be a perfect assassin with martial arts, boxing, and street fighting to name a few (with the mantra: "Adapt or Die" ...hence the tagline of this film!) at the beginning of the film and his impressive street fight scenes at the train station. Wish he had more scenes though as he wasn't on much... Cate Blanchette as agent Marisa Weigler was superb as the villain...she was just...wow! Her constant dental flushing and brushing her bloody teeth in a few scenes was downright bloody and creepy! Her non-stop pursuit on young Hanna, made me really hate her character, lol. She was that brilliant and amazing! As does Tom Hollander as the sadistic Issacs, who was a whistling baddie (great timing too with his whistling "the devil is in the beats" to match the score throughout the movie), and one of Marisa's mischievous and psychotic henchmen. Wow, TH was super creepy in this film! He was great and definitely put his A-game on this film. Jessica Barden, the young girl named Sophie who Hanna befriended in the film was pretty good herself. She added balance, fun and humor to this already jam-packed full of action suspense thriller. And Olivia Williams, who played Sophie's mother Rachel, albeit in a small role, but she still did good especially her scenes with Hanna and her traveling family.

Joe Wright (nice to see A Joe Wright Film in the opening scene and movie posters) had really outdone himself with this film. His direction was superb with an artistic style and those long, uninterrupted tracking shots that he always showed in his beautiful and successful films...is quite an impressive film making at its best. He much more than proven himself that he's a force to be reckoned with to the cinema-going audience, that he's not just a period piece film director...that he's much more than that and can direct action films as well as period romantic drama or any other genre films now, after Hanna. To think he had only directed four feature films (Hanna, The Soloist, Atonement, and Pride & Prejudice). He strongly delivered and impressed me so much with this film. He's a brilliant director and an actor's director, seeing as I've seen all four of his films now and he often worked with a few of the same actors he had previously worked with (ie. Keira Knightley, Tom Hollander, Brenda Blethyn, and now Saoirse Ronan). I love his directing style too and he's definitely one of my favorite directors. I'm looking forward to Anna Karenina that he's directing next with Keira Knightley (his frequent collaborator) in the title role. But back to this film, the stunning visuals and long-steady cam shots of this film was very impressive and artistic. It makes this film a standout, refreshing, different (in a good way) from current releases (along with its strong and solid performances by its cast and the brilliant script), makes you think and after you see it, the film, the characters, and the haunting score stays with you even after the end credits appeared.

Overall, I must say, Hanna was a terrific, high octane, fast-paced action, adventure, suspense thriller film. A must-see! Two Thumbs way uP! I highly recommend you see this film! It is one of the few of the best films I've seen this year...thus far. Definitely worth watching and worth the money I spent on ticket to see it. Go see it, if you haven't already!

My Hanna Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: The Lincoln Lawyer

2011-04-21T19:35:00.000-04:00

The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
starring Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, Josh Lucas

Watch the trailer for The Lincoln Lawyer

(source: TheTubeTrailers)

I saw The Lincoln Lawyer unexpectedly and without knowing much about it (albeit I've seen the trailer and thought it looked pretty good and is quite interesting. Aren't they mostly?) This film was great though and I've been hearing good things about it from people I know who had seen it. So, I thought I'd go see this movie for myself as I'm always interested into watching this type of films. It's a plus that Matthew McConaughey (he's easy on the eyes too!) is the lead actor of this film with wonderful and talented supporting cast in Marisa Tomei, William H. Macy, Josh Lucas, John Leguizimo, and Ryan Phillippe. Everyone in the cast were great especially MM. I thought this was his best performance (thus far) in some of the films I've seen him in, since A Time To Kill. His acting here was strong, mature, and serious yet with humor to make his character appealing and interesting to watch, which he did here. He owned his character Mick Haller, a Los Angeles defense attorney who works out of the back seat of his Lincoln Town Car (hence the title of this film) with a chauffeur name Earl and delivered a strong performance in this film. Marisa Tomei did pretty good too in her supporting role as Mick's ex-wife Maggie, who's a prosecutor and they have an adorable young daughter that they both raised together.William H. Macy played Frank Levin, Mick's private investigator and friend very well too. And Ryan Phillippe was pretty good and convincing as Louis Roulet, the antagonist in the film, who is a wealthy realtor accused of raping a prostitute and Haller was asked to defend him. It helps that the story was very good (of course, it was...as it was based on the novel of the same name by Michael Connelly, which I've never read...yet) from the start to finished. This crime drama had all the thrill, a lil' suspense, mystery, twists and turns, and humor to keep me watching and entertained. I love this type of film or genres, where it keeps me watching, interested, intrigued, and entertained all at the same time.

Overall, The Lincoln Lawyer was one of the few great crime dramas I've seen in a while. An unexpected and must-see film too that I loved and enjoyed watching. I recommend you see it. Go see it!

My Lincoln Lawyer Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Sucker Punch

2011-04-21T18:29:00.000-04:00

Sucker Punch (2011)
starring Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone,

Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm

Watch the trailer for Sucker Punch

(source: trailers)

I saw Sucker Punch recently and thought it was pretty good, but not great. Visually though, it was great with full of action and fantasy. It had a lil' combination of Kill Bill and Inception as far as fight scenes and mind-bending dream-like sequences go. The 300 director Zach Snyder, who originally wrote, produced, and directed this film did a great job directing it. Although, the story/plot was quite interesting and different than the norm, I thought it needed more gravitas to keep me interested and entertain. Other than that, I quite liked and enjoyed this film for what it was. The cast were pretty good especially Jena Malone as Rocket. Her character was my favorite in this film. JM was actually the main reason I went to see this film as she's a versatile character actress that's underrated and always seemed to impressed me no matter what role (in so many movies I've seen her in from Pride & Prejudice, Saved!, Life As a House to name a few to from when she was a young girl in TV/films such as Bastard Out of Carolina and StepMom to name two) she played in whether the film is really good, descent, or not...her acting is always very good, in my opinion, and she didn't disappoint on this one. She was great in the role and kick-ass in a lot of the action/fantasy sequences (much more than her co-stars...at least in my viewing...albeit Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish....especially her scenes with Rocket and towards the interesting twist at the end...both did good too) and she also showed some emotions in a couple dramatic scenes she was in. I was quite sad for what happened to her character towards the end. I so did not see that coming! Another reason I watched this film was director Zack Snyder just because I loved and enjoyed 300. Sucker Punch had that 300 visual stunning coloring approached to it, but unfortunately, was no 300. That film was still more awesome even on repeat viewings.

Overall, Sucker Punch was still a good, fun, and visually entertaining fantasy film to watch especially if you are into this type of film's genre. It balances both action and fantasy with drama.

My Sucker Punch Film Rating: ! (8/10; B-)

Film Review: The Adjustment Bureau

2011-03-11T10:33:00.004-05:00

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

starring Matt Damon, Emily Blunt

Watch the trailer for The Adjustment Bureau

(source: hollywoodstreams )

I just saw The Adjustment Bureau and thought it was a very good film! My kind of movie too as it had plenty of action, a lil' sci-fi thriller with plenty of an-edge-of-your-seat suspense, mystery, and romance all in one! It was quite an entertaining movie with an unexpected humor too. Though it reminded me a bit of Matt Damon's successful Bourne Trilogy films with all the running and chasing scenes, but you know what? It was great and it worked very well in this film too. I must say, I loved and enjoyed watching this movie from beginning to end.

I have waited to see this since I heard Matt Damon and Emily Blunt were cast in this film. They're two of my favorite actors and to hear them co-starring and paired up in the same movie got me so excited. The title was kind of unusual and took some time to get used to, but just seeing Damon and Blunt attached to star in this film was enough to make me excited and want to see them in this one. The title didn't even matter as long as the story was good and I knew they were both really good and very talented actors that they'll do great together. But the movie took a while to be released in theaters. The studio kept changing the dates. It had me worried that it may not be good or it wouldn't get released and I won't see them in this movie. I've seen the trailer and I thought it was interesting and looked like it had potential to be a very good movie. It should've been released last year as I was looking forward to it and was even listed in my Must-See List of films in 2010 (and again, this year too), but it was pushed back at least a few times or so and I've read an article that it had to re-shoot scenes and that it won't be released till sometime early 2011. I was thinking, what a bummer. I really wanted to see this movie. I was about to lose hope when I heard that it's was being released last week!

My excitement went back and on and this movie didn't disappoint! It was a very smart and all-around amazing. It reminded me also a bit of Inception and Taken in some parts. Very clever! I love all the mystery and suspense in this film. I kept thinking what the heck is going to happen next?!! What I love about this film was that I didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen next. It kept me guessing, wondering, and on the edge of my seat the entire time I was watching it, basically ever since the chase started for Matt Damon's character David Norris.

Though, I didn't care much for the politics part of it, but nevertheless, it was still very interesting and intriguing to watch and Matt Damon was so great on this one! He was so handsome to look at too...I could just stare and watch him get chase around or when his face zooms in, in close-up, when he speaks and when he does his political speeches with humor in any scene he was on, lol. I was so transfixed at the sight of him. I was thinking after staring at his face in those close-up moments of his David character when the camera zooms in to his handsome face, Matt Damon looks the same as when he starred in those Bourne trilogy movies even when I first saw him in Good Will Hunting (with his real-life and equally handsome and talented BFF, Ben Affleck) and The Talented Mr. Reply to name a few of his old movies...and looks like he never ages...like Leonardo DiCaprio, who's baby faced-looking and ages like a fine wine. He's a very good actor too and add Emily Blunt opposite him, who's a very good actress herself and you get to see a great movie. They make a beautiful couple! They were great together and sizzled on-screen with an instant chemistry the moment their characters David and Elise first met, that I was rooting for their characters to stay together when they did and fight for their love from those adjustment bureau gang, who were trying to keep them apart as much as possible. Emily Blunt was as great as Matt Damon. I loved and enjoyed watching her in The Young Victoria, The Devil Wears Prada, and Sunshine Cleaning to name a few. Even in supporting roles she does or her not so good films, she was still pretty good and a scene stealer too. In this movie though, they were both great.

Overall, I thought this movie was awesome! The cast from the leads (Matt Damon and Emily Blunt) to the supporting cast (even though they're not as big stars and familiar names as Matt and Emily) were just as good...especially the guys chasing them were kinda like those guys from Men In Black and The Matrix, lol. Not too mention, a very unexpected and nice surprised cameo by Jennifer Ehle (The King's Speech and best known as Elizabeth Bennet from the popular BBC/A&E's 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries), who appeared twice briefly as she popped in and out as quickly as she appeared in a couple of bar scenes that David stopped by twice and quickly in the movie. I so did not expect to see her in this movie and when I saw her, I almost didn't recognized her and the camera just zoomed in and out so quickly that if you don't know what she looked like or doesn't know or have seen her before when she was younger from back in the mid-90s who used to be in that P&P miniseries, you wouldn't even noticed her when you blink in that scene and another almost similar scene she was in. I happened to noticed her twice as I was familiar of what she looks like even to this day as I've seen her in P&P and in smaller roles in films like The King's Speech and The Greatest recently. It took me a moment though to realized she was in those brief scenes with Matt Damon. Very interesting cameo appearance! The story was smart and cleverly written. The acting of the cast were great and the direction was great as does the cinematography and visual effects! A must-see and phenomenal film I've seen this year, thus far. I highly recommend you see it!

My The Adjustment Bureau Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: Just Go With It

2011-03-10T15:44:00.002-05:00

Just Go With It (2011)

starring Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston,
Nicole Kidman, Dave Matthews

Watch the trailer for Just Go With It

(source: GeckoMoviesCom)

I saw Just Go With It a month ago and thought it was pretty good and funny. I laughed a lot. I actually enjoyed watching this movie more so than I thought. It was nice too that Adam Sandler was paired up with one of my favorite actresses Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman co-starred with them too. I like Adam Sandler and I've seen pretty much most of his movies (good or mediocre). I wouldn't say I'm a big fan, but I enjoyed watching most of his films and some were hilarious (ie. Grown Ups, Mr. Deeds, Anger Management, The Wedding Singer, Big Daddy, and 50 First Dates), some were ok (Bedtime Stories, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, etc.), and some were just not my cup of tea (ie. You Don't Mess With The Zohan, Spanglish, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry to name a few). As for Jennifer Aniston, I'm a fan of hers since her Rachel Green/10 yars in Friends (Loved and enjoyed watching her and her co-stars in Friends), but I must admit I haven't seen her in plenty of good movies (romantic-comedy or not) these days. She hasn't done a lot of good movies that I'd say were my favorite or were the best or funniest rom-com I've seen. There were some that I loved and enjoyed watching her (as well as the films themselves) such as Bruce Almighty, Office Space, Marley & Me, The Object of My Affection, The Good Girl, Along Came Polly, and Picture Perfect to name some. There were movies that she was still watchable and fun to watch despite those films being just ok and descent such as The Bounty Hunter, Friends with Money and He's Just Not That Into You to name few. But there were The Break-Up, Rumor Has It, and Derailed that I didn't particularly care to see as they were either not very funny enough or entertaining to watch that even with her and other good actors in the cast couldn't saved those movies if their acting and star power depended on them, lol.

In this one the star power of her, Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, and Nicole Kidman and plenty of humor and funny random jokes kept me entertained and were good enough to save this from movie from being typically mediocre and unwatchable.

Critics may have mixed reviews or often gave bad reviews to a lot of Adam Sandler movies (or other movies), but I often disagree with them as does a lot of people. Besides no matter what critics say, people decide for themselves and watch Adam Sandler movies (or any other movies they want to see) anyway. His movies always tops the box office or makes a lot of money. So nothing a negative critic review will stop people from watching his movies, lol. A lot of times they would say it's worse or mediocre, but I would see something different and the opposite. There are times that I agree with them, which depends on a movie. Like this movie, it's a rom-com and often times typical movies like this one gets a not-so-good review. I agree with some of them when other movies they reviewed were either typical or predictable rom-coms, but this one I disagree with as one they say that was "unwatchable," as I thought it was funny and I don't expect this to be the best or Oscar winning type of film (which it wasn't, as rom-coms like this one don't get even nominated in the Oscars, lol). I just thought that this movie was funny and entertaining to watch and I enjoyed watching it. I actually loved and enjoyed watching Jennifer Aniston in this film. She was funny and gorgeous throughout this film. Nicole Kidman was even surprisingly funny here as well as Dave Matthews. Their scenes with Jennifer and Adam Sandler were hilarious especially the hula dancing scene, lol. I laughed a lot in that scene. Jen and Nicole were hilarious! Adam Sandler too was funny. The kids who played Jen's character's kids were cute and funny. Even a cameo from SNL's Rachel Dratch made me LOL! There were only a few times that I thought that was not quite funny like in one of the scenes with Adam Sandler's character Danny keep saying the same joke that either gets annoying or that I could careless to hear about as it got quite repetitive, but other than that and a couple unfunny or over the top scenes, this movie was actually a lot of fun to watch.

Overall, I thought JGWI was funny and entertaining. I wasn't disappointed on this one at all and that the ending, though predictable, was actually not too predictable, but quite satisfying and what I typically expected to see between the leads Jen and Adam's characters Katherine and Danny to end it with. The little twist and revelation about Dave Matthews' character was funny too. I'd definitely watch this movie again and recommend it to those of you who are looking for a funny movie to watch with your family and friends that will make you laugh and entertain you at the same time, which this movie was all about. Like the title say, Just Go With It and see it!

My Just Go With It Film Rating: ! (8.5/10; B+)

Must-See Movies 2011

2011-02-03T11:47:00.006-05:00

Here are the following films I want to see on the big screen this year (2011)!

(In random order. *All dates are subject to change)

~~1. Barney's Version - 1/14/11~~
~~2. Jane Eyre - 3/11/11~~
~~3. Sucker Punch - 3/25/11~~
~~4. Hanna - 4/8/11~~
5. A Dangerous Method -11/23/11
~~6. The Three Musketeers 3D - 10/21/11~~
~~7. From Prada to Nada - 1/28/11~~
~~8. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part 1) - 11/18/11~~
~~9. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows - 12/16/11~~
~~10. Just Go With It - 2/11/11~~
~~11. Johnny English Reborn - 10/21/11~~
12. The Eagle - 2/11/11
~~13. The Adjustment Bureau - 3/4/11~~
14. Straw Dogs - 9/16/11
15. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy - 12/9/11

~~16. The Big Year - 10/14/11~~
~~17. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol - 12/21/11~~
~~18. The Mechanic - 1/28/11~~
19. Water for Elephants - 4/22/11
~~20. Last Night - 5/06/11~~
21. Dead of Night: Dylan Dog - 4/29/11
~~22. The Lincoln Lawyer - 3/18/11~~
~~23. Immortals - 11/11/11~~
~~24. X-Men: First Class - 6/3/11~~
~~25. Thor - 5/6/11~~
~~26. Something Borrowed - 5/6/11~~
27. Drive - 9/16/11
~~28. The Muppets - 11/23/11~~
29. The Iron Lady - 12/16/11
30. J.Edgar - 11/9/11
~~31. Captain America: The First Avenger - 7/19/11~~
~~32. Unknown - 2/18/11~~
33. Jack & Jill - 11/11/11
34. The Ides of March - 10/7/11
35. Puss in Boots - 10/28/11

More to be posted soon!

Film Review: The King's Speech

2011-02-01T11:05:00.001-05:00

The King's Speech (2010)

starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter,
Geoffrey Rush, Jennifer Ehle

Watch the trailer below

(source: trailers)

I just saw The King's Speech recently and I must say It was a terrific film. I've been wanting to see it since I first heard about it and I've been following its casting, production, and filming status as I love period movies especially historical and royal monarchies. There's something about those royals and time period/eras that always piqued my interest. They fascinate me and I've always enjoyed watching them. So, when I heard about this film, I knew I wanted to see it.

In 2009, I had enjoyed watching The Young Victoria (read my film review here) and when I heard Colin Firth was doing TKS and playing the lead role as Bertie/King George VI, I knew this will be really good and would be a big success. Not too mention, the director, Tom Hooper directed one of my favorite Period dramas (Love In A Cold Climate). I wasn't surprised when it was released at various film festivals first and had been getting rave reviews (both audiences and critics) and many accolades after another as it would. It just took me a long time to finally get to see this film. It was mostly showing in selcet cities (as it often does when it comes to small budgeted, independent films) before it finally expanded late last December. I got to see it when it finally went wide after it became more and more popular and had been receiving tons of recognitions, nominations, and accolades for the main cast Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter, and the film, of course. So glad to finally have seen it. It was as good as I thought it would be.

Actually, it was much more than I expected. It was awe inspiring, heartbreaking, emotional, and triumphant all at the same time. It had some humor too when you least expected it. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush were equally amazing and complement each other's scenes very well. I loved and enjoyed watching every scene they appeared together. The cast were great and the story was brilliantly written. Superb acting by both main and supporting cast (especially CF) as well as terrific direction by Tom Hooper.

Colin Firth was perfectly cast for the lead role as Bertie/King George VI (Great Britain's current Queen Elzabeth's late father). He was excellent and very believable as the reluctant king who stammers. CF was quite impressive in the role. He most certainly deserved all the recognitions, nominations, and awards he has been getting for this film. The Oscar (his second nomination two years in a row) win for him come Oscars Night will be an icing to his royal highness and majesty's cake, lol.

Geoffrey Rush was great and funny as Lionel Logue, the speech therapist who helped Bertie/King George overcome his stammer. Helena Bonham Carter was also great in the supporting role as Elizabeth, the Duchess of York turned Queen Elizabeth (the late Queen mother to the current Queen Elizabeth). CF reunited briefly with his Pride and Prejudice (1995 miniseries) co-star Jennifer Ehle, who played Geoffrey Rush's character's wife Myrtle Logue. She had quite a small role in this film, but it was nice to see her in this film as well as to be reunited with Firth even just for a brief scene. I sure was expecting it, but didn't think will see them in the same scene throughout hte movie until halfway or almost towards the end of it. Their brief scene together was a pleasant surprise as her character was surprised to see him. It was short, but sweet. It was like watching Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, 15 years later as their older selves, lol. It's interesting that they haven't done movies together since P&P. It was nice to see them again on screen though, this time on the big screen. Their other former P&P co-star, David Bamber (Mr. Collins) had a cameo role here as well. So, it was like a nice lil' P&P reunion in The King's Speech. It would've been nice though if JE had played the CF's character's wife instead of HBC, not that HBC wasn't good ('cause she was), but it would've been an awesome P&P reunion had they played the lead role together (just wishful thinking on my part)...but then again, P&P fans (who are familiar with these two in the 1995 miniseries) would just see them as Darcy & Elizabeth not the King and Queen, lol. So, it was for the best that she played a small, supporting role and he played the lead role. It worked out quite well in the film (loved their brief scene together though)...perhaps in another movie.

Overall, I thought the King's Speech was an outstanding, beautiful film. A must-see film and a crowd-pleaser too. You'll laugh and cry at the same time. I highly recommend you see it, if you haven't already. Go see it!

My The King's Speech Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: Tangled

2011-02-01T10:19:00.001-05:00

Tangled (2010)

starring (voices by): Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy

Watch the trailer below!

(source: trailers)

I was pleasantly surprised how great, fun, entertaining, and enjoyable Tangled (aka Rapunzel), the latest Disney animated film was when I saw it last Thanksgiving. It's been a while since Disney made a Princess animated film (ie. Alladin, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Snow white, Cinderella, etc.) that was really, really good as Tangled and that everyone loved and enjoyed watching from younger kids to adults (basically the general audience). It's a fun and entertaining movie for the entire family.

My two younger nieces (ages 4 and 7) loved and enjoyed watching this movie as much as my eldest sister and I did (and we're adults, lol). They love reenacting scenes from the movie especially the scene where Mother Grothel would be calling Rapunzel from down the tower to let down her hair. My youngest neice loved playing Mother Grothel and say, "Rapunzel, let down your hairrrrrrr!" (she'd say it like the mother's voice from the movie, lol) and my older niece would be Rapunzel and say, "Coming Mother." And they'd both laugh, Hahaha!!! This sure was a very funny movie. Great casting for the voice of Rapunzel. Mandy Moore was fantastic as both the voice and singing voice of Rapunzel. Both her vocals: singing and speaking voices fits perfectly for Rapunzel. Zachary Levi (NBC's Chuck) did great too as the voice of Flynn Rider. He was funny and sings too.

Overall, I thought Tangled was awesome, terrific, fun, entertaining, funny, and a lot of fun to watch. Definitely, a family-friendly film for everyone. Go see it, if you haven't already. I highly recommend you see it (either on regular screens or 3D)!

My Tangled Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: You Again

2011-02-01T09:27:00.000-05:00

You Again (2010)
starring Kristen Bell, Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman

Watch the trailer

(source: HDTVStream)

This family friendly, comedy film was as good as it's preview. It was hilarious. I laughed out loud. There were so many funny moments in the film. I was pleasantly surprised of how I laughed a lot, enjoyed watching this, and the cast were terrific especially Betty White and Kristin Chenoweth, both in the supporting cast, but every time they appear on screen, they made me laugh. They were randomly funny with funny one-liners. Their scenes were just hilarious. I actually liked Kristen Bell in this film. She had another one I previously seen, When In Rome with Josh Duhamel. That one was funny, but not as laughed out loud funny as this one. Jamie Lee Curtis was hilarious especially when she did her cheerleader routine with Oddette Yutsman, haha... Kristen was hilarious when she was jogging with her brother, lol. Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis' catfight in the swimming pool was funny as well as when Weaver's character said to Curtis when they were dressed alike, "Oh, wow, call Us Weekly and see who wore this dress best," lol. Kristen Chenoweth's rehearsal and wedding dancing scenes were funny as well as the psycho ex-boyfriend (or was it ex-fiancee?) of Odette Yutsman's character when he started toasting and singing at the wedding, haha! Not too mention that scene that's featured in the trailer where Betty White was giving her phone number, facebook, and "the twitter," too, lol. So funny.

Overall, I thought this film was really good and funny. Definitely, a fun movie to watch, hilarious, and great casting too!

My You Again Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Secretariat

2011-01-31T23:08:00.000-05:00

Secretariat (2010)
starring Diane Lane, Dylan Walsh, John Malkovich

Watch the trailer below

(source: DisneyMovieTrailers)

I thought this movie was pretty good. Diane Lane was brilliant in this film. Love her and her performance here. I'd say this was one of her best performances of some of the films I've seen her in. I didn't know anything about this film before and when I saw it, but I did see the preview and Diane Lane. So, I thought I'd go and see her in this film. I was pleasantly surprised of how wonderful this movie was. It reminded me a bit of Sea Bisquit starring Tobey Maguire, which was good because I liked that movie too. This was based on a true story, which was very interesting. Great film, great casting especially Diane Lane as the lead star for a change. I quite enjoy watching her in this film. Her acting was superb. The rest of the cast were great too. The story was very well-written, inspiring, and touching all at the same time. Secretariat, the horse was impressive too. At first, I didn't know what Secretariat meant or what it was all about...it was actually the name of the champion, record-holder, and one of the fastest horses that Diane Lane's character owned. Secretariat would be the unique horse you would love to root for as it always starts last, but will catch up and finishes first whenever it was getting closer to the finish line. Very interesting and inspiring at the same time.

Overall, this film was terrific! I loved and enjoyed watching it. I recommend this movie to anyone...particulary to those who own and love horses...or even if you don't own a horse and just love a feel good, touching, and inspiring film like Secretariat. It was worth watching and one of the rare gem of films I didn't expect to love.

My Secretariat Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Life As We Know It

2011-01-31T22:32:00.000-05:00

Life As We Know It (2010)

starring Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas

Watch the trailer below

(source: hollywoodstreams)

I thought this was just an okay movie that's been done many times before. A typical romantic comedy and predictable too. I was disappointed because I expected it to be really good with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel in the lead. They make such a cute couple and they didn't seem to bring more spark into this film. I guess I expected more or expected too much and I usually end up being disappointed. Still, I enjoyed watching this movie for what it was. There were some funny moments and some sad moments, as well as sexual tensions between Heigl and Duhamel's characters.The baby was cute and funny too.

Overall, this movie was a nice, romantic comedy, family drama type of film. More of like a Hallmark kind of film. I think this was better to Netflix or rent this movie than to watch in theaters. Not that I thought it was worst nor I dislike watching it in theaters, but just sayin'...

My Life As We Know It Film Rating: ! (6/10; C-)

Film Review: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

2011-01-25T02:02:00.001-05:00

Wall Street: Money Never Sleep (2010)

starring: Michael Douglas, Shia Lebeauf, Carey Mulligan

Watch the trailer below!

(source: FoxMovies)

I saw the first Wall Street movie once, ages ago, and I don't remember much other than I wasn't into it. I guess because at the time, I never understood the Wall Street money talk. This time around though I got to see it again because I wanted to see the sequel. I must admit, I did want to see it, all because of Carey Mulligan's addition to the cast and her playing Winnie Gekko, daughter of Michael Douglas' character Gordon Gekko, the antagonist of the first original film and this one too. Seeing the first movie was not too bad too at all. Michael Douglas was actually pretty good and deserving of his Oscar win. Seeing this sequel, It made sense about his character. Also, it was nice to see Carey Mulligan playing his estranged daughter. Even Shia LaBeauf was pretty good here too. Charlie Sheen had a cameo appearance. Josh Brolin was another good addition to the cast.

Overall, I thought Wall Street 2 was good. Though it could've been done much better as the story was interesting and quite good. Michael Douglas was pretty good. Carey Mulligan and Shia LaBeauf too. Josh Brolin was quite good as the antagonist character opposite Shia LaBeauf as well as Michael Douglas.

My Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Film Rating: ! (7.5/10; C+)

Film Review: Resident Evil Afterlife 3D

2011-01-20T14:42:00.000-05:00

Resident Evil Afterlife (2010)

Starring: Millia Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller

Watch the trailer for Resident Evil Afterlife 3D

(source: hollywoodstreams)

The 4th Resident Evil movie, Resident Evil Afterlife in 3D was great! I loved and enjoyed watching it more than the first three previous RE movies. The best thing about this 4th movie from the RE franchise is that, it had lots of action and the three main lead characters/actors I love and enjoyed watching in this film. They were a team too, Milla Jovovich as Alice, Ali Larter as Claire Redfield, and Wentworth Miller as Chris Redfield, and were just fun to watch. I also didn't mind that there weren't much zombie action. There were some and they were plenty and not too much and overdone. I love all the action sequences with Alice and her clones, Claire fighting the huge axe man, and Chris helping the kick ass girls.

Overall, I thought RE4 in 3D was awesome. I saw it twice in theaters and recently got my copy of the Blu-ray disc. I just loved and enjoyed watching it 3D or not. Loved the visuals and music too. It was just fun and entertaining to watch. Also, I love that one of my favorite characters Claire Redfield was back and she had more to do in this one than the previous RE film. Likewise with the addition of Wentworth Miller as Claire's brother Chris Redfield. Love Milla, Ali, and Wentworth as a team in this movie! A must-see RE movie sequel for those of you who are fans of these actors and RE francise.

My Resident Evil Afterlife 3D Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Celebrity Look-Alikes (part 6)

2010-10-26T11:57:00.002-04:00

Is it just me? or are you seeing what I'm seeing? ... you know, doubles or look-alikes among the following famous celebrities, some of them happen to be my favorite actors. These celebs are often mistaken looking like the others and vice versa. Some have actually either met or worked together, while others have yet to meet or cross paths. Do you agree that they all look similar?

Check out part 6 of Celebrities Look-Alikes photos below!

One used to be best known
for her Monica role in Friends
and currently a cougar in Cougar Town
The other used to be known for singing "I'm Like A Bird"

and then became Promiscuous girl

Courtney Cox-Arquette and Nelly Furtado

One was in two Miss Congeniality films

and Academy Award winner for The Blind Side
The other was just in one Rush Hour 2 film

with Chris Tucker and Jacky Chan

and last seen in Without A Trace

Sandra Bullock and Rosalyn Sanchez

One is a busy Pussycat Doll and
Dancing with the Stars champ
The other is just Keeping up with the Kardasians

Nicole Scherzinger and Kim Kardasian

One used to be a star in tv's Dark Angel
The other is currently seen as a mean girl
in the new comedy film You Again

Jessica Alba and Oddette Yustman

Film Friday #98 - The Count of Monte Cristo

2010-09-03T23:53:00.003-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 98th film pick) will be...

The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)

Starring: Jim Caviezel, Guy Pierce, Henry Cavill

Watch the trailer for The Count of Monte Cristo

[source: ShauntProductions]

Enjoy watching The Count of Monte Cristo until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Trailers of movies I want to see (September 2010)

2010-09-02T13:25:00.000-04:00

Resident Evil Afterlife 3D
starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Wentworth Miller
In theaters: September 10, 2010 (wide)

(source: hollywoodstreams)

Never Let Me Go
starring: Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Andrew Garfield
In theaters: September 15, 2010 (limited)

(source: FoxSearchlight)

Wall Street: Money Never Sleep
starring: Michael Douglas, Shia Lebeauf, Carey Mulligan

In theaters: September 24, 2010 (wide)

(source: FoxMovies)

You Again
starring Kristen Bell, Jaime Lee Curtis, Betty White, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman
In theaters: September 24, 2010 (wide)

(source: HDTVStream)

Film Friday #97 - Legend of Zorro

2010-08-27T22:55:00.000-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 97th film pick) will be...

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Adrian Alonso

Watch the trailer for The Legend of Zorro

[source: showdAustin]

Enjoy watching The Legend of Zorro until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Friday #96 - The Mask of Zorro

2010-08-20T22:41:00.000-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 96th film pick) will be...

The Mask of Zorro (1998)

Starring: Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins

Watch the trailer for The Mask of Zorro

[source: actionfan2000]

Enjoy watching The Mask of Zorro until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Friday #95 - Eat Pray Love

2010-08-13T23:55:00.001-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 95th film pick) will be...

Eat Pray Love (2010)

Starring: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, James Franco

Watch the trailer for Eat Pray Love

[source: SonyPictures]

Enjoy watching Eat Pray Love until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Friday #94 - Saved!

2010-08-06T22:09:00.000-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 94th film pick) will be...

Saved! (2004)

Starring: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macaulay Culkin,
Eva Amurri, Mary-Louise Parker

Watch the trailer for Saved!

[source: Miniboy17]

Enjoy watching Saved! until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Review: Inception

2010-08-01T15:33:00.003-04:00

Inception (2010)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cottilard, Cilian Murphy
Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Talulah Riley

Watch the trailer for Inception

[source: TheTubeTrailers]

Just saw Inception recently and I thought it was pretty good! No, not just good, it was superb! It was so different, yet very interesting and mind boggling at the same time. So true about the dream thing that when you are dreaming about something or being in a place so vivid, you don't always remember the beginning or how it started, you always get to the middle part of it. Then, the next thing you know, you wake up from that almost too real dream and back to reality and you're thinking how or what just happened or that you wished you could go back to sleep and resumed that dream, but it mostly don't happen...unless, you have that recurring dream. I've always wondered about that, lol. Very interesting stuff. It really made me think about the things we dream about and often forget about when we wake up. This film was fresh, brilliant, and original. I didn't know what to expect or what was going to happen next. I felt like I was in that dream within a dream with Leonardo DiCaprio and company and I was on the edge of my seat trying to hurry and wake up like they do and get out of that particular dream, lol. Like the whole time I was watching this movie, I felt like I was in a dream within a dream and that this movie I just saw was just a dream...and I'm at home typing this review in a whole entire dream in my computer, haha! J/K! I certainly have those type of dreams where it felt so real or that I was like in an action movie being chased at and was running so fast (sometimes I wish I run as fast as I do in my dreams, lol) and the next thing I know, my dream was either cut short or to be continued...'cause I got interrupted and suddenly woke up from the middle of an intense and interesting dream....or sometimes it was a scary dream that I'm glad it got interrupted and I had to wake up.

Anyway, enough about me and my dreams, lol. Back to Inception, in my opinion, this movie was just smart, innovative, challenging, interesting, and thrilling to watch all at the same time. I loved that this movie makes you think, but you still don't know what to think after seeing it (it gets confusing, if you are not focus when you watch it or don't pay attention to every scene...thus making you go back and see this movie again) or that it keeps you thinking of what ifs about your own dreams. It's also like a brain teaser, intellectually complicated puzzle that you're trying to solve, but can't, lol. Also, Inception was visually stunning, very clever, brilliantly written and superbly directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins), the music score was great, had plenty of action, twists and turns, to keep you interested in watching, and the rest of the cast were excellent here especially Leonardo DiCaprio. He's one of my favorite actors and he delivered one of his finest acting (as he usually does) and was outstanding here as does the rest of the cast including Marion Cotillard (she was great here too...though I loved her in A Good Year with Russell Crowe...she was feisty and funny in that film), Ellen Page (I actually liked her here than Juno, lol), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (he's pretty cute in this film, hehe...), Ken Wantanabe, Michael Caine (he always seem to appear in every Christopher Nolan's films lately, but he's still pretty good even in a small role), and Cillian Murphy (cute, but his eyes looks scary when you stare at him, lol), Tom Hardy to name some. Pride & Prejudice's Talulah Riley (aka Mary Bennet) was good too in her brief cameo appearance as the Blonde girl who appeared in a bar with Leo Dicaprio and Cillian Murphy's characters in their dream within a dream scene. It was very interesting to know that her character was just a made up one from one of the characters played by Tom Hardy. Her scenes were very quick and few, but still pretty good that you'll know when you see her or that you'll remember her after seeing the movie as she had scenes with the main lead and supporting male characters (DiCaprio, Murphy, Wantanabe, and Hardy)...so not bad for Miss Riley to be in those lil' scenes especially when she got to share scenes with her hotties Inception co-stars, even just briefly, lol.

Overall, I think Inception is a rarity, fresh, intelligent, and original film that I've seen thus far this year and this summer (esp. with so many crowded remakes and sequel movies out a lot lately, it's refreshing to see something new, fresh, and original)! A must-see too (especially if you love this genre type of film)! It's been #1 in the box-office for the last two weekends. It's #1 again this weekend for the third week in a row! Definitely worth seeing, if you haven't seen it yet. I highly recommend you see it! Go see it!

My Inception Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Friday #93 - RV

2010-07-30T23:47:00.000-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 93rd film pick) will be...

RV (2006)

Starring: Robin Williams, Cheryl Hines, Jojo, Jeff Daniels

Watch the trailer for RV

[source: OnlyPreviews]

Enjoy watching RV until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Friday #92 - Grown Ups

2010-07-23T23:45:00.001-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 92nd film pick) will be...

Grown Ups (2010)

Starring: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, John Schneider,
David Spade, Salma Hayek, Maya Rudolf

Watch the trailer for Grown Ups

[source: hollywoodstreams]

Enjoy watching Grown Ups until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2010-07-21T13:38:00.000-04:00

Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Rob Pattinson, Taylor Lautner,
Peter Faccinelli, Ashley Greene, Jackson Ratbone,
Elizabeth Reaser, Nikki Reed, Kellan Lutz

Watch the trailer for Twilight Saga Eclipse below:

[source: TwiIightSagaEclipse]

I saw this movie twice! First, on 4th of July, the same day I met one of the Twilight stars, Ashley Greene (Alice Cullen)! Yes, I've met her!!! Quoting a line from one of Mariah Carey's song (Fourth of July from the Butterfly album), "It was Twilight on that 4th of July," indeed (you can read my story about my fun experience meeting AG here! scroll down to reply #18)...The second time I saw this was a few days later, on iMax!!

I thought this was a great movie and a lot better than the last two Twilight films I've seen previously (see my reviews of Twilight and New Moon), in my opinion. It has something for everyone even guys who wouldn't be caught watching the previous two movies will tolerate and enjoy watching this one especially the action and cool fight scenes. This film had lots of action, cool visual effects, drama, humor, love triangle (though I hate this part of in both books and movies), vampires, and werewolves...especially hot and shirtless ones, lol. This was a fun movie to watch, that I didn't mind watching it more than once. Definitely worth watching more than once. Not too mention, a few of my favorite characters (ie. Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, etc.) got a lil' more screen time too, which was more than welcome, a pleasant surprise, and made me more interested and satisfied in watching this movie. It also stayed pretty close to the book, much more so than the last two...if I remember correctly, lol.

Favorite characters
- Alice Cullen
- Edward
- Bella (when she's not whiny and broody, lol)
- Charlie
- Jacob (esp. when in all his shirtless scenes, hehe)
- The rest of the Cullen clan (Jasper, Carlisle, Esme, Emmet, and Rosalie)
- Jacob's wolf pack/friends esp. young Seth

Least favorite characters
- Victoria
- Riley
- The Newborns (excluding poor Bree Tanner, the only newborn I didn't dislike...)
- Jane and her Volturi gang

[Warning! ... for those who haven't seen this movie and don't want to be spoiled...]

My favorite scenes...
- The training fight scenes with the Cullens as Jacob and his wolf pack watches on...and Alice surprising Jasper with her impressive fighting skills and an unexpected kiss she gave him...I thought that was cute an unexpected. It looks much better on-screen than what I imagined it reading (though I don't remember reading that unexpected "kiss" part in the book...that was why I was as surprise as Jasper was, lol). Great job by Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone as Alice and Jasper in that lil' fight training scene they shared and that lil' surprise kiss she gave him...
- Jasper's backstory and him telling Bella about his past made me liked Jasper more in this movie than in the previous two...not too mention, he talks more (and very easy on the eyes to look at) in this movie too and his love for Alice...and the way he was such a gentleman to her and their shared kiss, was just too cute for words even Bella can't help but noticed and smiled. Forget Edward-Bella-Jacob's love triangle...I'm team Jalice (Jasper & Alice), lol.
- Rosalie's backstory, like in the book...you start to like her and understand her character more why she appears cold (or a "bitch"...lol) on Bella (in the previous two films, much like the previous two books) was because she "envies" her and that she didn't want Bella to be what she had become...the cold one and lonely too...even with Emmet in her life, she still longed for her previous human life, where she was happy and wanted to get married, have a family of her own and grow old with the man she loved, but that didn't turned out the way she expected her life to be...and can't say I blamed her for the way she feels...
- Every scene Alice Cullen was in from the first scene she appeared to the last ( think she appeared more than a dozen scenes, if I counted correctly...much more than I expected to have seen her appeared...even more so than the last two films combine)...yes, can't you tell? I'm Team Alice! lol. Obviously, she was one of my favorite from the Cullens and characters from the Twilight series (books and movies) and to see Ashley Greene more in this movie was as awesome as it was meeting her after seeing this film the first time...making my Eclipse movie, the best Twilight movie viewing experience I've had! it made me loved and enjoyed watching this movie more than the last two. :)
- The Cullens chasing Victoria was pretty cool to watch! Nice visual effects too!
- The brief scenes between Bella and Alice especially when Bella heard Alice speaking to her father Charlie in a "first name base,"and Alice taking her shopping (would've love to see a scene of them shopping though, but it wasn't shown here, unfortunately, perhaps in the deleted scenes?) and the graduation party she hosted at the Cullens home.
- The tent scene between the main three: Edward, Bella, and Jacob. The part when Bella was so cold and shirtless Jacob had to warmed her...love Jacob's funny one-liner in this scene to Edward, "I'm hotter than you," lol. That sounded a lot better on-screen than in the book and when you can actually see shirtless hottie Jacob saying it too, hehe. Taylor Lautner did a great job as Jacob in this movie (as well as in New Moon) much more so than Rob did as Edward, lol. Interestingly, I'm still team Jacob, as in look-and-shirtless-wise here, hehe!
- Edward's funny comment to Jacob, "doesn't he ever wear a shirt?" or something close to that, lol. Good one Edward...though I see jealousy here on Edward's part, haha!!!
- The cool fight scenes towards the end between the Cullens and their allied Werewolves vs. Victoria and Riley and their clueless newborns. Great visual effects and stunts used here. Kudos to the stunt team!
- The Edward vs. Riley and Victoria fight scenes...very cool scenes and Bella's being useful moment, distracting Riley and Victoria with her blood for once in this film, lol.

My least favorite scenes...
- Bella's whiny, broody, and moody attitude (even in the books I didn't like this part of her...even though I know that's part of her traits/personality)...it's like depressing watching her whenever she acts like that, lol.
- Victoria/Riley's scenes esp. Victoria lying to Riley
- the newborns scene with Riley as well as the beginning when Riley was turned into a vampire...
- Bella and Jacob's awkward kiss scene (when he kissed her and she punched him...and she broke her arm punching him, lol)...
- Edward and Jacob fighting over clumsy human Bella, lol.
- the scene where Jane and a few of her volturi possee's meeting with Victoria and Riley
- Jane hurting Bree Tanner with her paralyzing power in front of Bella and the Cullens and her ordering Felix to kill Bree Tanner...poor clueless, newborn girl (I've read the Second Short Life of Bree Tanner...that's why I feel bad for her). The Cullens tried to help, but they couldn't do anything with Jane's strong order.
- Jacob hurt and in pain towards the end. It was excruciating and heartbreaking seeing Jacob in pain, lol.

Overall, I thought Eclipse was great. I loved and enjoyed watching it much more than the last two films. This film made me look forward to seeing the last two films (split in two) of Breaking Dawn...though I don't know how they're gonna translate that last book to the big screen. There was too much going on and so many unexpected twists and turns...we shall see. Those two films won't be released till next next year (2011) and the year after (2012)...so for now...Eclipse has this longevity to watch more than once than the last two, which I don't mind at all. I highly recommend you see this one, if you haven't yet. It was a lot better than I expected too. Go see this on iMax for a much bigger and better viewing experience!

My Twilight Saga: Eclipse Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Friday #91 - Inception

2010-07-16T21:00:00.002-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 91st film pick) will be...

Inception (2010)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cottilard, Cilian Murphy
Joseph Gordon Levitt, Ellen Page, Talulah Riley

Watch the trailer for Inception

[source: TheTubeTrailers]

Enjoy watching Inception until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Review: Grown Ups

2010-07-16T14:40:00.003-04:00

Grown Ups (2010)

starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock,
Rob Schneider, David Spade, Salma Hayek

Watch the Grown Ups trailer below:

[source: hollywoodstreams]

I thought Grown Ups was very funny. All 5 former SNL lead actors in this film were hilarious especially Rob Schneider. I thought he was the funniest of the 5 SNL alumni. He made me laughed the most in this movie, lol. Kevin James was very funny too. Chris Rock was, oddly, very funny here as I've never seen before. Surprisingly, no cursing from him in this movie (as I'm used to hearing him cursed in his previous films), lol. I usually don't find him funny, but he was in this movie. Adam Sandler was his usual funny self, much like his previous films, lol. David Spade was hilarious in his often funny, sarcastic, and one-liner humor, lol. RS was still the funniest of the 5 though. He was a scene stealer. In the female supporting characters, I'd say Maya Rudolph (who played Chris Rock's pregnant wife in this movie) was hilarious. I laughed so hard at the scene where she and other wives including Salma Hayek (who plays the wife of Adam Sandler's character) when they were checking out the guy with big buff muscle and abs...only to find out the guy talks funny, haha!!! She just cracks me up every time she talks, lol. Even Steve Buscheme (who always appear in every Adam Sandler movie) was hilarious in his small role here as well.

Overall, Grown Ups was a pretty good, hilarious, and laugh-out-loud movie that actually made me LOL and enjoyed watching it at the same time. I haven't seen a very funny movie like this since last year's The Proposal and Confessions of a Shopaholic. I highly recommend you see this with your family and friends. It's a fun, laughed-out-loud film for everyone to see. Go see it!

My Grown Ups Film Rating: ! (8.5/10; B+)

Trailers of movies I want to see (July 2010)

2010-07-16T11:09:00.000-04:00

Inception

[source: TheTubeTrailers

Film Friday #90 - Knight and Day

2010-07-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 90th film pick) will be...

Knight and Day (2010)

Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz

Watch the trailer for Knight and Day

[source: TheTubeTrailers]

Enjoy watching Knight and Day until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Friday #89 - Twilight Saga: Eclipse

2010-07-02T23:54:00.001-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 89th film pick) will be...

Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

Watch the trailer for Twilight Saga: Eclipse

[source: clevverTV]

Enjoy watching Twilight Saga: Eclipse until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Trailers of movies I want to see (June 2010)

2010-06-29T09:55:00.000-04:00

Killers

[source: hollywoodstreams]

Toy Story 3

[source: Toystory]

Karate Kid

[source: SonyPictures]

Knight and Day

[source: FoxMovies]

Grown Ups

[source: hollywoodstreams]

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

[source: TwiIightSagaEclipse]

Film Friday #88 - The Matrix

2010-06-25T21:02:00.000-04:00

This week's movie to watch (our 88th film pick) will be...

The Matrix (1999)

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Ann Moss, Laurence Fishburne

Watch the trailer for The Matrix

[source: JaseLove]

Enjoy watching The Matrix until Friday next...

After viewing this movie, be sure to answer the following list of questions (to post and discuss with fellow FF participants in the following Friday in the P&P thread here or post a comment here in my Movies Blog) below:

1) Post a brief review of the movie (ie. story, plot, location, cast, acting, music/score, costume, cinematography, directing, etc.)
2) What did you think of the movie?
3) What would you rate this movie out of ten? Would you see it again?
4) What is/are your favorite scene(s) from the movie?
5) Most Favorite character(s) and why?
6) Least Favorite character(s) and why?
7) Most Favorite scene(s)?
8) Least favorite scene(s)?

Film Review: Prince of Persia

2010-06-24T09:42:00.001-04:00

Prince of Persia (2010)

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton

Watch the trailer for Prince of Persia

[source: DisneyMovieTrailers]

I thought this movie was great! Loved it from beginning to end! Jake Gyllenhaal was easy on the eyes (not too mention he has that sexy six-pack abs in this film! What's not to love? lol) and Gemma Arterton was very pretty here and pretty good. Love her quick wit and feisty-ness here and her banter with Jake's Dastan here. He is witty and sarcastic himself, lol. They were very good together. The film kinda reminded me of The Mummy movies though, but I didn't mind. I love this type of action/adventure type of film especially when you're enjoying watching it on the edge of your seat and don't know what's going on and what's going to happen next. It's much more fun watching it, and this film was certainly was. I kept wondering what was going to happen next. I was so focused into it from beginning to end, lol. The action...plenty of it, was fast pace and kept me on the edge of my seat. Jake G. and Gemma A., like I said... were just pretty good together in this film as the Prince (Prince Dastan) and Princess (Princess Tamina), who unlikely team up and eventually fall in love. The rest of the cast including Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina were really good too. They balanced out the main cast.

Overall, I thought this film was just great and was worth watching. I loved and enjoyed watching it. I even saw this movie twice now...and still loved it! I highly recommend you see this, if you haven't already. Go see it!

My Prince of Persia Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: Sex & The City 2

2010-06-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Sex & The City 2 (2010)

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Watch the trailer for Sex & The City 2

[source: hollywoodstreams]

I thought Sex & the City 2 was pretty good and funny. I loved and enjoyed watching it. Kim Cattrall's Samantha was very funny and one to see on this film. She was as well in the first movie and the TV series (on HBO). The first movie though was more funny, but this one was good and funny too. The ladies were great too. They were funny and fun to watch especially Samantha and Charlotte. I loved the Midde East scenes. The Gay Wedding scenes with Carrie's gay friends who were getting married were hilarious especially Liza Minilli. singing and dancing to Beyonce's "Single Ladies: Put a Ring on it," lol.

Overall, S&TC2 was a fun, feel-good, funny, romantic-comedy film to watch with your girlfriends. It was pretty good. I loved and enjoyed watching it. The four ladies (Sarah Jessica Parker/Carrie, Kristen Davis/Charlotte, Cynthia Nixon/Miranda, and Kim Cattrall/Samantha) were all great. I recommend anyone to see this especially if you loved the first movie and the series and fans of these fabulous and fashionista ladies. Go see it!

My Sex & The City 2 Film Rating: ! (8/10; B+)

Film Review: Robin Hood

2010-06-20T20:35:00.000-04:00

Robin Hood (2010)

Starring: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew Macfadyen

Watch the trailer for Robin Hood

[source: hollywoodstreams]

I thought Robin Hood was great with plenty of action, humor, and adventure to keep you going and watching. Though I used to love the Kevin Costner Robin Hood version growing up, but this one is good too...a lil' different and more like a modern Gladiator, after all, Russell Crowe also starred on it and the same director, Ridley Scott directed this, so the comparison's natural. Besides, Gladiator was one of the best films and had won Russell Crowe and the film both Oscars. This film was good on its own. The story was set before the Kevin Costner version and was said to be a prequel. The story was well written. The cinematography and visual effects were equally great. Good direction by Ridley Scott (though Gladiator was still the best, in my opinion). Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett were both great as Robin and Maid Marian as well as Pride & Prejudice actor Matthew Macfadyen (would've love to have seen him appear more as he had quite a few scenes in this film) as the idiot Sheriff of Nothingham. The rest of the supporting cast including Mark Strong were pretty good too.

Overall, it was a very good revamped and prequel version of Robin Hood. I thought it was different from the previous Robin Hood versions, but worth watching nonetheless. I loved and enjoyed watching the whole movie. I was into it from beginning to the end. Great movie! I highly recommend you see this while its still in theaters. Go See it!

My Robin Hood Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Iron Man 2

2010-06-20T19:28:00.000-04:00

Iron Man 2 (2010)

starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow

Watch the trailer for Iron Man 2

[source: TrailerCommunity]

I thought Iron Man 2 was pretty good and as equally good as the first one. Robert Downey Jr, as usual, was great as billionaire Tony Stark as does Gwyneth Paltrow and even Scarlett Johannsen. Mickey Rourke, on the other hand, was badass as the villain especially when he used that lightning wire to try and kill Tony at a car race in Paris. That was an awesome scene! There were plenty of action, some funny lines/humor here and there, and the pacing was neither too fast nor too slow, in my viewing. It just keeps you entertain and will have you on the edge of your seat. Though I missed Terrence Howard, who was replaced by Don Cheadle in this sequel. DC was good here, but TH was the one I got used to watching for that character that DC is now playing. Other than that, this film was very good.

Overall, It was great and was worth watching. I loved and enjoyed it as much as I did the first one. I highly recommend this for anyone who loves action and comic book adapted films...especially those who loved the first one.

My Iron Man 2 Film Rating: ! (9.5/10; A)

Film Review: Alice in Wonderland

2010-06-19T13:32:00.000-04:00

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway

Watch the trailer for Alice in Wonderland below:

[source:WaltDisneyStudiosIE]

I thought this film was great! It was the first film I saw on iMax 3D!!! Loved it! It was fun to see this movie as I didn't know what it was about and what to expect. It had me wondering what was going to happen next. Yeah, I know...and admit that I've never seen or read the previous TV/Film adaptations of Alice in Wonderland nor read the books. I've only heard the title and that it was a popular children's book...so it was fun watching this film and knowing/hearing about it as I watch along. The cast were great especially the newcomer actress Mia Wasikowska, who played the title character, Alice. Johnny Depp was hilarious as "Mad Hatter", Anne Hathaway was good too and ghostly looking as the "White Queen", and Helena Bonham Carter was pretty good and funny as the villain "Red Queen" and sister to AH's White Queen.

Overall, Alice in Wonderland was a great film. A fun, family movie where you can bring everyone (family and friends) along to see it with you. It was great seeing it on iMax 3D too. I loved and enjoyed watching it. I highly recommend you see this, if you haven't yet. It is now available on DVD and Blu-ray for you to either buy or rent or netflix.

My Alice in Wonderland Film Rating: ! (10/10; A+)

Film Review: The Bounty Hunter

2010-06-19T13:27:00.001-04:00

The Bounty Hunter (2010)

starring: Jennifer Aniston, Gerald Butler

Watch the trailer for The Bounty Hunter below:

[source: SonyPictures]

I thought this film was pretty good and funny. Lots of action, humor, sizzling on-screen chemistry between Jennifer Aniston and Gerald Butler. Not too mention, the nice banter between their characters as well. They sure have a pretty good on-screen chemistry that should've been translated off-screen too, lol. I loved and enjoyed this film despite its flaws. Gerald Butler's so handsome and so sexy especially in one scene where he was shirtless in his towel and Jen tazerd him, lol. I thought that scene was funny. The only thing that seemed to drag on was the time/length of this film. It seemed too long that it was beginning to wane or that I was anxious for it to get to the ending. The ending's a lil' predictable (but not too predictable...if that makes any sense...), but I liked that they end up together... unlike Jen's other film, The Break-Up...though the title itself already implied it, lol.

Overall, other than the time issue I had (lol), I thought this was a good movie with a combo of some fun action and rom-com (romantic-comedy), and not too mention good looking leads Gerald and Jennifer to keep you entertain and watching. I would recommend anyone to see this especially Gerald Butler and Jennifer Aniston fans.

My The Bounty Hunter Film Rating: ! (8/10; B+)