A Ton of Movies

Okay. So I have been watching lots of movies this summer. So many that I sometimes forget which ones I have watched. I am sure I will miss a few but here are the ones I remember from the past few weeks. Oh wait. Netflix has a cool thing where you can look at your recent activity. This will make this post much more exciting. Here's the list:

1. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Vol. 1
2. The Adjustment Bureau
3. Hereafter
4. Source Code
5. Lebanon, PA
6. RV
7. The Switch
8. Captain America
9. Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Good list of flicks. I would say I did like all of them, although, The Switch was not my favorite. In fact, if you are one of my LDS friends, don't even think about watching it. It just made me feel weird. So I won't even give you a review of that one. Whew, that makes this post a bit easier. I will now review the others. Look at the pics for reference. They were all found on netflix.com:
1.
Wonderful flick. Had seen it already and was re-watching before seeing Vol. 2. It is dark and scary, so don't bring your little ones to see it. My niece was actually pretty upset by this one when she first saw it because it is scary and she really couldn't get what was going on. The search for Horcruxes was fun. I liked how Harry and his buddies are out on their own trying to save the world from He Who Shall Not Be Named. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you have probably already watched this and know it is a gem. If you are not a HP fan, get on it. Where have you been the past almost 15 years. The books are phenomenal and the movies are fantastic. Get out from under that rock you have been under! This gets six Horcruxes!
2.
Matt Damon is amazing. This movie really gets your mind to think because you are trying to figure out why "The Adjustment Bureau" doesn't want Damon's character, who happens to be running for New York Senator, to not be with Emily Blunt's character. Apparently, the bureau is in charge of making sure the plan for the world stays on task. The movie is a suspense filled flick with lots of action. A perfect date movie because you also have the romance that us chicks are looking for. I give it a big old nice fedora and you will see why after watching!
3.
This movie is phenomenal and you have to be awake to get it. My mother and I tried to watch it together and both ended up asleep. It was too much for a tired brain. Basically, Matt Damon plays a psychic. He has a connection with the "Hereafter." He is wanting to get out of the business of psychic readings but fate has other plans. He comes into contact with two people who have been effected by death and is able to help them. It is a great movie. I can sense that you will like it. I give it two sets of interwoven hands.
4.
Another movie that will challenge your brain, so be sure you are awake to enjoy this great flick. I actually attempted to watch it one night and fell asleep. Remember that this is not an indication of movies being lame or boring but that I am! I guess I have been watching movies with cute leading men lately. Jake Gyllenhaal is the lead in this movie and he is nice as well as a great actor. His character is a military man who is on a mission that he doesn't quite know all the details about. He is put into the "Source Code" which allows him to go back in time to get information about a train bombing. He has only an eight minute window each time he returns to the train to discover who has planted the bomb and if he can find this out he can prevent another attack that is to happen this same day. This is very full of action and keeps your mind awake. It also has elements of humor and I really liked the ending. Watch it. It will be explosive! :) I give it two railroad ties.
5.
This movie is more serious and definitely more of an independent film. I stumbled upon it because the lead actor in this film was also in 12 Men of Christmasand I thought he was pretty dang cute! :) Anyway this movie was pleasantly surprising seeing I wasn't thinking it would be all that good. It was actually very good and made me think in the process. (I am sensing a theme of thought provoking films this summer) Anyway, it is about a man whose dad dies and he is brought to settle the affairs and come to this town, Lebanon, for the funeral. He comes from a pretty liberal place and Lebanon is far from liberal! Basically, it has issues of adultery and abortion within the storyline that effects this man and the community he is all of the sudden a member of. I highly enjoyed it even if I didn't agree with some of the views presented. Great movie. I give it some sparkly jewelery!
6.
I must have been the one under a rock seeing I missed this movie. I remember it being a good movie and lots of people liked it. For some reason, I think I may have seen it but had been distracted because this movie is great. I am glad my Kristin Chenoweth kick of the summer lead me to this flick. It has so much humor and is a great lighthearted family movie(for those with a little bigger kids!). Basically, Robin William's character takes his family on a RV adventure, which they do not want to go on. He mainly does this in order to get both a family vacation in as well as a job duty done. The family has never done any type of camping or non hotel vacation and they learn lots along the way. They meet another family, which consists of a bunch of home-schooled weird kids and hippie parents. The parents are played by Jeff Foxworthy(Hello hilarious) and Kristin Chenoweth(Hello funny and brilliant!) The two families have their challenges but eventually come to be great friends. Enjoy the journey with this movie because it is given a school bus of joy!
7.
This movie is cute and funny and it does have Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston(I love them both) but it also talks about sperm a lot and I am not a fan of sperm talk in films. I give it a token of shame.
8.
I loved this movie. It had everything. Action, a cute lead(this is important to me lately!), romance, and lots of blowing up of things. This movie is the last prep for The Avengers and I am so excited for that movie next summer. Captain America is cool. I didn't realize that he was a scrawny guy who was made big by an experiment via Stark Industries. (I like the tie to Ironman! Although, I do like Robert Downey Jr. better than the Stark in this movie.) I also didn't know that Captain America longed to be in the military during WWII and couldn't get in because of his sky. Again...I was probably under a rock. Great movie. One of the surprises of the summer. Watch it. I give it an indestructible shield of glory!
9.
Okay, if you saw the second Transformers, you probably though that this movie would completely not be worth going to because the second was terrible. I am here to tell you that this movie is SO WORTH seeing. Here is something that one of my friends posted on Twitter: @jarrenb "Transformers 2

12 Men of Christmas

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Yes, it is July. Yes, I did watch this movie in the middle of summer. My mom and I thought it was fun to watch a Christmas themed movie in the comfort of our A/C. We sat under blankets to make it feel like Christmastime!

This was another movie that had Kristin Chenoweth in it as a part of my ongoing summer Cheno addiction. In this movie, she plays a woman who loses her job in New York and eventually accepts one in Montana, of all places(She also loses her fiance which devestates her even further). I think Montana is nice, but for New Yorkers, I guess that place is boring and weird. Anyway, she basically goes there with plans of moving back to New York in a year after a big project with the new job is done. The 12 Men actually are each a photo for a calendar that Chenoweth's character, E.J., is in charge of putting together in order to raise money for a search and rescue team. Getting twelve men of Montana to take off some of their clothing for a photo spread proves hard and E.J. is consumed with making it happen. Of course, the biggest opposition comes from one of the search and rescue guys, who happens to be amazinly gorgeous, and E.J. basically hates him. They fight endlessly and have a bit of sexual tension that also builds throughout the movie. (I often wonder how this heat actually grows between two people because I would just end up punching the jerk in the face and getting a restraining order against me)

I won't give you all the details and will just tell you to watch the movie. Not only do you get to see the amazingly cute and wonderful acting of Ms. Chenoweth, but you also get to see burly men with their shirts off. Hello, major win.

I give it twelve pin up models and an apple box to stand on(for Cheno!) It's good. Watch it. You won't be sorry and remember that cheesiness is happiness!!!

The Music Man

Image found at imdb.com

Apparently I was under a rock my whole life and really didn't know where songs like: "Gary Indiana," or "Good Night, Ladies" came from. Well, my friends, they are from The Music Man. I was too young(and actually not even alive) to appreciate either the Broadway hit or the 1962 movie, but I am very glad that I have recently been on a Kristin Chenoweth kick since reading her book because I got to watch this brilliant little movie.

I am not always a musical fan. Don't even get me started on Oklahoma! But I did really enjoy Annie, which probably is for younger audiences. I really think the reason I liked Annie was because it was very action packed and funny. This is also why The Music Man got my heart.

It not only has one of favorite songs to hum in it: "Seventy-Six Trombones" but it was also humorous and had romance. Basically, Professor Harold Hill(played by Matthew Broderick, and again I was under a rock my whole life and didn't realize he could sing so well or that he was ever on Broadway), is a scammer posing as a traveling salesmen. He basically comes into town with the promise that he will make a marching band to keep kids out of trouble but actually has no music ability himself and the kids never play a note. Chenoweth's character is Marian the Librarian, who is very skeptical of Hill and wants to prove that his act is a scam. Unfortunately, she falls for him(okay so not so unfortunate). Brilliant. And btw, Ms. Chenoweth has got some lungs. That woman can sing. You. GO. Girl! Not only do you get peppy songs you also get some dancing and some romance. I say watch this film. You will not be disappointed unless you are numb to fun!

Also, when you do watch, and you will, be sure to pay attention to "Shipoopi." I told my sister that my new nickname is Shipoopi because of my dating experience and she could call me Ship for short. Of course she said she will call me poopi for short. Silly seester!

I give this brilliant little film three batons and seventy-six trombones(of course)!
Enjoy!

Sliding Doors

Sometimes, just for fun, I watch movies that I really liked in the past. When I do this, I am often distracted by my iPhone and the interwebs. But the parts I did catch reminded me again how much I LOVE this movie. I am a big Gwyneth Paltrow fan these days(she rocked it on Glee) and I have a lot of her movies in my Netflix queue.

Anyway, the whole premise of this film is that maybe one small insignificant decision or incident can shape our whole life. In the movie, for Paltrow's character, missing or catching a tube train makes all the difference in her life. The story follows both stories. The story of catching the train makes Paltrow's character catch her boyfriend being unfaithful while also meeting a very nice man. In the scenario where she misses the train, her life spirals into a horrible scene where she is working two jobs and supporting the cheating scum.

I love how this movie makes me think about life and how maybe the little stuff does actually matter.

I give it four tube tickets. Watch it! Love it!

Life As We Know It

I was expecting this movie to be a flop but it actually was a good flick. And can I just say I am really liking Josh Duhmael these days. He is nice.

The whole story is about how two people are thrown into dealing with each other after their best friends die in a car accident and leave a little baby girl behind. They two, played by Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhmamel, had been set up on a blind date a few years earlier and hated each other. The movie basically goes through their struggle as suddenly new parents and how they deal with each other.

You knew already that they fall in love, but you should watch anyway. It is cute.

I give it three jars of baby food thrown on the ground.

The King's Speech

I was concerned that I wouldn't like this movie because I don't do well with remembering history. (Ok, let's be honest, I have a hard time remembering anything! Dang sometimers.)

It was okay that I didn't know much about the history of the royals over in England, because with my limited knowledge, I was still able to follow and love this story.

Basically, this is about George VI and how he was suddenly in the spotlight of King without the speaking skills to perform well(He suffered from a stuttering problem). The story is one of perseverance and passion. Even though George had a hard time, he kept at practicing with his speech therapist and goes on to deliver an amazing speech and lead his country through war.

I really think this is the best film I have seen so far this year and I give it five crowns and one hundred royal gems!

Toy Story 3

Pic found at imdb.com

The whole time I watched this, I was thinking about how brilliant the creators of the storyline have been. Seriously, as a child, I always thought of my toys as being real and always felt bad when I played with one toy more than another. I was sure they had feelings and would be sad when they didn't get adequate play time.

And who would have thought to write a story about how those toys feel when their owner grows up and goes away to college. Brilliant.

This is a fun little animated film and I am not usually a fan of animated. Watch it. Love it. Then go and play with those dusty toys, because you know you feel guilty about neglecting them.

I give it a double Ken and Barbie because those two characters killed it! :)

Johnny English

This movie is fantastic. A must see. If you are cool, and love British humor, you will love it. If you like Mr. Bean(and that makes you automatically cool) you will like this flick because the actor who plays Bean, is in this movie.

It is about this degenerate of a spy who goes from desk to front lines when all the British spies are killed at a funeral. He must step up to save the crown jewels.

This is a typical funny movie and a spy spoof. Slapstick humor at its best. Check it out soon.

I give it two Big Bens and a Tower of London award!!!

A Bazillion Movies in One Post

I have seen like seven movies since I posted about Country Strong. I am pathetic. So here is a post about all seven. Excuse them because they will probably be very short and they are lacking pictures!

1. Gulliver's Travels(I actually saw this film in December but thought I would review it now!)
I love Jack Black. Some of you probably do not. That should not deter you from watching this flick. It was very cutesy and definitely fits into the romantic comedy genre. The humor is fantastic. I really don't remember a whole lot about the storyline because I was destracted by a cute young man who kept wanting to hold my hand. Gross. Good thing I tossed him! JK.

2. True Grit
I have been told that the original of this movie is much better than the remake. Of course, this is true for most remakes, right? I cannot judge yet because I haven't seen the original John Wayne movie. I do have it in my Netflix queue waiting for me to get the motivation to watch it. My dad loves John Wayne, which is probably why I don't love The Duke. I was a very oppositional child. Anyway, I really did enjoy this remake. I loved the feel of an old western but with modern actors. Matt Damon was phenominal, which he usually is in film. The storyline was fabulous and rung true for any let's get the bad guy western theme. I did however, think that there was a little bit much gore and violence. Just a warning for those of you that don't do well with violence. I am not a big violence fan, hence my hatred of horror films. I didn't think I would like this film, so you should watch it because it truly is a gem!

3. Red
Red reminded me how much I love funny "let's accomplish a mission" movies. The basic storyline is that an ex-CIA agent is living a normal life of retirement, when people show up to try to kill him. He reassembles his old team and goes to work fighting the would-be assasins. The movie is packed with action, adventure, humor and most impressively a star studded cast in Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich. See it, you won't be disappointed that you did!

4. Vampire
I saw this independent film at The Sundance Film Festival. It had about two minutes of brilliance and the rest was awkward and disturbing. DO NOT EVER SEE THIS FILM and if you do, remember I warned you!

5. The Tourist
Never listen to people when they are giving bad reviews. (Except when I do about Vampire, I am being serious!) I had heard a few bad things about this movie but am glad that I never listen to critics. I just go to films and enjoy what they are. Sometimes I paid way to much to be disappointed and other times I think to myself: "Wow, that was really worth more than the eight dollars I just spent to see it." This movie was very good. I thought the five dollars that I paid to attend was well worth it. Both Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp were amazing. I am not a Johnny Depp fan at all, but he was actually quite cute in this movie. The story is about a tourist, oddly enough, who finds himself in the middle of a dangerous goose chase to trap Jolie's character's ex. It is wonderful. Be a gambling tourist and take a chance! Cheesy!

6. The Dilema
First off, I would like to say that this movie made me laugh my butt off. Seriously, Kevin James and Vince Vaughn are two of my ultimate favorites. This movie is about two friends(Vaughn and James) who are trying to get a deal with a big car company for a car that sounds like a real car but is electric. They stuggle to get the engine going as well as marketing their idea. The biggest challenge in the film is actually what Vaughn's character sees James' character's wife doing. Very funny little film. I'd see it again!

7. The Social Network
If you are into Oscar nominated movies then see this film. It is nominated for several Oscars this year. I really didn't know what to expect from this film and my mind is still trying to determine what I thought of it. I really didn't know the history behind how Facebook came to be and this movie shed lots of light on that history. I also didn't think about how valued Facebook is either. It is worth billions. Basically, it is a business and sometimes business is dirty and political. I also didn't know that the founder of Napster was a part of the process of Facebook coming to be either. Very interesting. All the actors in this movie were great. I really hope that Eisenburg, who plays Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerburg, wins because he was fantastic in the role. Justin Timberlake also shows that he has some mad acting skills as he plays Napster creator, Sean Parker. Very good film.

So there you have the seven movies I have seen recently. I promise I will work harder at keeping this more up to date seeing I am still seeing a movie a week. I wonder what I should see this week, any suggestions?

Country Strong

Oh. My. Goodness. This movie is the movie to see this year. Crazy how it is only January and I am saying this. Seriously, as the final credits were rolling, I was wondering why they released this movie in January and not in December. I am not sure when movies have to be out in order to get nominations for this years' awards shows but if this movie isn't considered until next year that will be crazy. It is SO good.

Gwyneth Paltrow has always been one of my favorites, but she totally and utterly shocked me in this film. She is an amazing singer. I loved listening to her sing in this movie. I think I am for sure going to have to buy the album! She also does an amazing job making a woman, who may be a little rough around the edges, lovable. She plays a country singer who is an alcoholic. A tough part for anybody, not for Gwyneth though.

Some of the movie was a bit controversial. Little bits of sex and it does have adultery, but not the in your face kind that is often in movies more allusion than point plank scenes. I wasn't ever offended by any of the scenes. In fact, I was impressed by the lack of nudity. I think Ms. Paltrow has a pretty good no nudity clause in her contracts.

Basically, the story follows Paltrow's character as she is dealing with coming out of rehab. She finds support in a man who is not her husband. He is a country singer as well, who is taken under Paltrow's character's wing. He is the opening act of her comeback tour shows. Her husband, played by the handsome Tim McGraw, is her manager and he is trying to cope both with the loss of their child and his wife's alcoholism. The story follows their struggle's both in their relationship and with alcoholism. It also follows the other country singer's journey with fame and in the web of relationship that he has with Paltrow's character.

Watch this movie. Today if you can. It is amazing. Great music, inspiring story, and fun.

I give it 6 Grammies.

How Do You Know

Photo found at Netflix

Well, I was going to go see The Tourist, but decided last minute to see this movie last Monday. I am actually pleased I did. This movie was just what my soul needed at that time.

I love Reese, so this was automatically going to be a good flick(She hasn't been in much lately and said she was waiting for a good script...this one was great both for her and well written in and of itself!). I also love softball and her character is a USA softball team member. Hello. This movie also has Paul Rudd, who I have recently fallen in love with, as well as my old boyfriend, Owen Wilson.

Basically, this is about Reese's character dealing with major life change. The end of her career. She then is faced with an even more frustrating situation, the choice of men. Rudd's character is funny and smart. Wilson's is totally a jock, but a sweet one. It is fun to see her internal battle to choose which is best for her.

This is a great little romantic comedy that even has the great Jack Nicholson in it. Watch it. You won't strike out. So punny. I give it seven golden gloves and a very good pair of cleats.

Dear John

Photo found at Netflix

A very good reason to watch this movie is for Channing Tatum. He is yummy. Why am I using yummy these days? Anyway, he is cute and makes me like to watch his movies.

Another reason you should watch this movie is because it is cute. Not in the gag me with spoon way, but in the heart touching way.

This is about a soldier who falls in love while on leave. They couple stays in touch via letters after he re-enlists after the 9/11 attacks. (Can you believe it will be ten years this September?) Is their love enough to last while he is away and can't call or come home? I won't give away too much but it did make me a little weepy at the end. And not in a bad way.

Some people hate movies based on Nicolas Sparks' novels. I am not one of these people. I loved the Notebook and while this movie is not at that movie's amazingly wonderful level, it ranks up there. If you are up for a heart warming and wrenching story, this movie is a good one to see. I give it a purple heart!

Grumpy Old Men

photo found at: netflix.com
Classic. Watching this movie made me yearn for home. Then I went home for a few weeks and it was fun to be reminded of the little shanty town that was in the movie. It is crazy how people in Wisconsin and Minnesota love their ice fishing. I guess if you have a fancy little hut to fish in with heat and other ammenities, you can bear it!

This movie is so funny and I totally forgot how very crass it was. Am I evil that I enjoy it?

If you ever want some laughs, revisit this film! I give it five big bass and a musky to hang in the corner.