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?