Deb's Best (and Worst) of 2012

Ok, so our second year has come to an end.  As I am getting ready to write this final chapter of our favorites and least favorites of 2012 my 9 year old daughter wanders over and says "Whatcha doing?"  I respond  "writing on our blog"  Her response..."Blog? what Blog"  Me...giving her a funny look, "UH  the movie blog"  Her response with a big, AH HA smile..."Oh, is that why you and Tiff go to a movie once a week?"  Really?  Wow, I guess some things just slip by in this household...

So I have to say, this year was not as good as last year.  As I looked though the movies I am a little disappointed.  I had a harder time coming up with my favorites, vs the ones I didn't really like.  I will warn you, I went on my "memory"  what stuck with me and what didn't, so my choices may not correspond with my rates..per se...but that's the way this girl rolls.  So here it goes.

Worst: 
1.) Chronicle:  Don't bother putting this one in the history books.
2.) The Words:  Not just the words, the whole movie...
3.) Flight:  A really downer...in more than one sense.
4.) Think Like a Man: Or maybe don't, it didn't work out so well..
5.)  21 Jumpstreet:  Jump ship on this one.
6.) Cloud Atlas:  Left me feeling like I was under a cloud of confusion
7.) A Thousand Words:  Words just didn't do it for me this year

Best:
1.) The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel:  I would see this again, and I rarely see a movie twice.
2.) This Means War: Great Girl and Guy movie!
3.) Pitch Perfect: Laughable, loveable, singable
4.) Mirror Mirror:Gotta love the fairy tales with a twist.
5.) Perks of being a WallFlower: Highschool romance always a winner to me.
6.) Anna Karenina: Artsy to the max, and worked!
7.) Titanic-ok so that's a little bit of a cheater, but it was worth it! (I saw it twice!)

Honorable Mentions:
1.) Snow White and the Huntsmen:  Another fairy tale, which I loved.
2.)  The Hunger Games:  Book meets movie...a winner
3.) Silver Linings Playbook: embrace your inner Crazy!
4.) Breaking Dawn Part 2: Final chapter to an awesome series...ok, so the book is wayyyy better, but still
5.) Step up Revolution:  A real entertainer...gotta love a good dance
6.) Hit and Run:  Fast cars,crude humor,  no thinking
7.) Argo: Well done

The Best (and Worst) of 2011-Deb's

Well, it's been an amazing movie year. A "New Year's Resolution" turned into one great adventure for my sister and I. I think it was a wonderful idea. Our husbands were so very supportive, willing to give up a night a week staying at home with the fam so Tiff and I could enjoy our new hobby. Granted, some of our movies were seen with others, even our hubbies and kids got in on the action. I have to say, it was one of the most fun things I have decided to do. Getting a little sentimental on you all, I have to say what I really enjoyed the most was spending time with Tiffany. You see, Tiffany is my "little" sister. She is 8 years younger than me and we spent most of our childhood at home with me being the grouchy, overbearing, controlling, older sister who never wanted her little sister to bother her. Tiff was the younger sister who followed me and my friends around begging us to let her stay, and promising she wouldn't talk or breathe, if I wouldn't send her away. By the time Tiff had grown up and I grew out of my--leave the little sister behind- mode I was gone away to college. We lived apart until she graduated from college and I had already had 2 kids. By some unforeseen, yet perfect freak of nature, we both ended up in Blue Springs MO. We have enjoyed each other like two sisters really should, sharing our family, our joys and everything in between. So you see, this adventure may seem to be all about the movies, (which it is) but more importantly it is about sharing a passion with someone I truly love and care about.

Now, on to my picks. I must say, these are MY favorites, the ones I enjoyed the most, maybe not what a critic would look for, but what I like in a movie!

THE BEST OF 2011
. The Way - Inspirational, motivational,
. Warrior - I stand by my review, "Rocky on Steroids"
. The King's Speech - Superior Acting, intriguing story
. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- Perfect pick of actors, action packed, on the edge of my seat sort of movie
. Red Riding Hood - Suspense, Love Triangles, and all the stuff a good movie is made of.
. Crazy Stupid Love - Romantic, Love, Life and Marriage
. The Debt - Great acting and storyline

THE WORST OF 2011
. Your Highness -Natalie Portman this wasn't your brighter days
. The Hangover Part II -You should have stopped at 1.
. The Three Musketeers - Really? How could they be that bad?
. Bad Teacher - The Title should have warned us
. Jack and Jill - yep, they fell
. Midnight in Paris - Just not my thing, sorry, don't like Woody Allen
. 30 Minutes or Less - I wish it would have been

HONORABLE MENTIONS
. The Help- Great job, the book was just a little better
. Justin Bieber:Never say Never- Pretty amazing story of stardom-plus I loved watching my 8 year old at this one!
. African Cats- Great photography, Loved the nature
. J. Edgar- Kind of bizarre, but good in a weird sort of way
. Contagion - pretty interesting

So..There you have it! Would love to hear your thoughts

Week 53: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Everytime I see or say "Dragon" I think of my nephew and his little giggle. Tiff and I are from Montana, we say "dragon" incorrectly..it sounds like dregon, vs dragon..anyway, I know I say the title of this movie wrong for all my fellow friends of the world, but those from Montana probably would hear it the "right" way!

So, I didn't read the book. Usually I do, but this time the movie came out before I could get to the book, and I decided to be surprised. I was very pleasantly surprised! I loved this movie, and felt we couldn't have ended on much better of a note!

I don't think I will go into the details too much, except to say, it's a suspense mystery type of movie with a great story line and good development of characters. Daniel Craig was perfect for the role. I couldn't help but kind of feel like I was watching a James Bond movie, and actually it kind of sort a was. Rooney Mara did an amazing job. I was really intrigued with her, and think I may actually pick up the second and third book because I really want to know where her character goes from here.

The Chemistry of Daniel and Rooney was really quite cool. I did have a little bit of a cringe because she seemed so much younger than him, but all it all it wasn't too weird.

All I really have to say is...go see it! It's a great man or woman movie! (Not so much a kid movie though, lots of sex and violence.)

The year is done! Can we really stop seeing movies? I doubt it. We will be posting our 2011 favorites, and then figuring out what 2012 brings. Love to hear your comments on our movie filled year! Thanks for the adventure, and guess what! I accomplished my New Years Resolution!! YEA!!!

Week 52: We Bought a Zoo

Week 52! NOOOOOOO, ok, we will see another one, sort of like being pregnant, they say it's 9 months, but really it's 10. They say 52 weeks in a year, we say 53.

So, Christmas Day we loaded up the families (minus 2) and headed down to the Plaza to see a movie. Sort of trying to make it a little more exciting than going to our regular theater. Christmas lights, theatre with an escalator (cheaper by about 15 bucks!)

The key players in this movie were Matt Damon, (the dad) Scarlett Johansson (the zoo keeper), Colin Ford (older child) Maggie Elizabeth Jones (younger child), and Elle Fanning (13 year old zoo helper). The story line follows the title, a family of 3 buys a home that happens to be part of a Zoo. This movie is based on a true story, I like true stories so was happy this was our Christmas movie.

All in all I enjoyed this movie. My husband did happen to notice there was a little more "swearing" than he thought appropriate for a PG movie. I do agree, but regardless I thought the movie was good. I like Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson was okay, nothing outstanding. Maggie Elizabeth Jones stole the show really. She was super darn cute! She is a 7 year old, but really seemed younger which made her more cute. If you saw "Footloose" she played in that as well. Wouldn't be surprised to see her more in the near future.

This movie was touching, had some good humor and a good family show. My 8 year old was "in love" with the romance of this movie. She couldn't hard contain her "AHHH" for the romance that happened between Elle Fanning's character and Colin Ford. She is a hopeless romantic like her Mama.

All in all and good family movie. See it together and appreciate the family you have.

See you for our LAST review of 2011~ It's a good one!

Week 51: Sherlock Holmes-A Game of Shadows

This movie was a good "take your husband out on a date" movie. I had not seen the first one, but was told it didn't matter. I think it may have helped a little, but I don't think I lost any of the intention by not seeing the first one.

We also got to enjoy the movie with our friends. Thanks for coming with us Steve and Shelley.

The main players: Robert Downey Jr.-He did excellent. Jude Law-Amazing as well. These two had great chemistry and worked well together. Kept me entertained with humor and quirkiness. Roomi Rapace- She did a great job. Excited to see her in a different role to see if she is a great as she seems.


Overall impression: Good movie, lots of adventure, action, and twists and turns. Good couples movie!

Next review to follow soon.

Week 50: New Years Eve

The pickins' are slim this holiday season! With only a few movies left I was hoping to go out with a BANG! However, it is kind of just fizzling away.

This week we say New Years Eve. This movie was basically the interconnection between about 20 different people and what they do on New Years Eve in New York. There were a ton of well known actors in this film, (look at Tiff's post, it will save me the typing!) Really there was only one story line that kind of "touched" me, and amazingly enough it was the scenes with Halle Berry and Robert De Niro. I guess saying, "amazingly enough" doesn't sound nice, really they both are great actors, I was more amazed that with all the different actors in this film there were only two that impressed me much.

The movie was pretty light hearted, with some laughs and some touching moments, but nothing of real depth that captures your soul. Kind of like watching a T.V. show as the relationships were not really developed too much, and there really was no plot. Just watching the lives of many on a Holiday.

I will say that my 14 year old daughter really did like this film, so maybe it's geared more towards the teenage female audience. Honestly, I was confused why it didn't come out on New Years, or something like that..I think the movie industry is just dying to find something to feed to us Movie Junkies because there isn't much out there right now, they were just throwing us a bone.

All in all, a decent movie, but nothing too special. I would say it is a good mother/teenage daughter show. Zac Efron and Ashton Kutcher may appeal to those tween types and it's a clean show :)

See you soon!

Week 49: The Descendants

Ok, so our posts are running a week behind, but we ARE going to the movie, which is most important in my world.

We got to do a "Two sisters, A Mom and A Movie" this time around! We were hard pressed to find something out there we wanted to see, but after some looking around stumbled across this gem. Yes, it was a gem!

This movie follows two basic story lines, one about a family who's mother/wife is ill and the family is trying to cope with the choices that need to be made to stay afloat emotionally. This is intertwined with a story of the father/husband of this family, trying to make a decision about selling some land that is in his trust.

George Clooney plays the lead role along with Shailene Woodley, who plays one of his daughters. Really, most of the movie centers around these two and their interactions. I am always impressed when I see Good old George on the film. He seems so at ease. In fact, at one point in the movie he was suppose to be kind of "geeky" or maybe more "average" and it seemed out of character, he just is too laid back and in control that to be out of control was sort of off. Not to say he didn't do a good job, but you just know it's not him.

Shailene did an exceptional job as a 17 year old girl. She was pretty darn close to what I think so many 17 year olds probably act like. I know she plays on a TV series, but I read where this was her first role in a movie. Yep, she's good!

I think what I most liked about this movie was that I cried and I laughed. A movie that does that can't be anything but a winner in my emotional book. I like to laugh and cry..tap into both ends of the spectrum and confuse the mind with how it really feels.

Mostly, just a great movie to go to with my mom and sister! Thanks for the great night Tiff and Mom.

See you for week 50! only 2 left..so sad :(

Week 48: My Week With Marilyn

Happy Belated Thanksgiving. Usually this time of year movies are all over the place and as my family often comes to visit Tiff and I for Thanksgiving, we go to several movies over the week. For some reason this year, the movies are few and far between. However, we found this one, and wanted to share the AMC Cinema Suite experience with everyone.

This movie chronicles a week following a man named Colin Clark, played by Eddie Redmayne, who happens upon a job as the 3rd assistant director in the taping of a film with Marilyn Monroe, played by Michelle Williams. The movie is based on a book, by Colin Clark, and is a true story (from Colin's perspective of course.)

The movie really didn't have a lot of depth. I think the movie really captured the "craziness" that is so often rumored of Marilyn Monroe's personality. I have no idea how true this really is, of course it is just one man's opinion, but my guess it Marilyn was sort of off her rocker just a little bit. She seemed to have some issues with mental illness, as well as addiction. I have never really seen anything about Marilyn and her life. I guess I expected a little craziness, but man this movie made her seem a little more than just crazy.

As far as the movie itself, I think Michelle Williams did an amazing job. From the few clips I have seen of Marilyn Monroe, I have to say Michelle did great. Her voice was especially convincing. Eddie Redmayne did okay. I wasn't overly impressed. However, one of the best performances was by Judi Dench. I always like her characters. She just seems so natural in her roles, and this movie was no different.

Overall this movie wasn't that great, it really wasn't Cinema Suite worthy, but if you like Marilyn Monroe, and want to see someones perspective of her life, this would be a good renter.

See you next week.

Bonus Review: Jack and Jill

Well, this will be short and sweet. I took the family to see Jack and Jill last week (or the week before maybe.) This is the movie with Adam Sandler and Katie Holmes (no chemistry what so ever). Adam plays the husband and then a twin sister to the husband. The twin sister comes to visit, and over stays her welcome. There was really no development of the story, it just sort of "started". The character development was not there at all, everything just sort of happened. Honestly, I thought this movie was kind of stupid. There was really no plot, no real story line and no real anything. However, my 11 year old son laughed so much and so infectiously during this movie I found myself laugh/crying at him.

So I guess this movie was geared towards those 11-14 year old boys of the world. Burps, farts, falls and stupidity galore. I say boys, but my 14 year old daughter and her friend seemed to kind of like it as well.

Basically, a good family movie, if you want to see your kids laugh and enjoy some family time, but rent it..save a little money.

Week 47: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1

WEEK 47?!?!? We only have 5 weeks left!..I am thinking this tradition will have to continue in 2012.

SO...the ever awaited "Breaking Dawn" was our show for the week. We luckily didn't have to wait until 12:01 to see it, but got in on the Stubs reward showing at 8:00 instead. It was crazy, there were 5 or so screens showing it at the AMC. Guess there is always a way around the 12:01 release huh?

So, I think I liked this movie the best, which is crazy because I liked this book the least. I am pure Jacob, 100%. I actually saw an awesome tee-shirt last night that read "Team Jacob, because real men don't sparkle" LOL I want that shirt!

Anyway, back to the movie. There were a few things that I felt made this movie better. 1.) I feel like the actors are getting better at acting. I watched the first 3 movies again before I watched this one. The maturity of the actors is showing through, and I feel like they just did a better job. 2.) I liked that the interaction between the wolves is more apparent in this movie. You get a better feel of the way they communicate and their connection with each other. 3.) Some of the personalities of the vampires come through better. 4.) I liked that the movie took more time to focus on the first half of the book since it was split up into two separate movies. I think that kept some of the story alive and didn't cause the makers to have to pull some of the important parts. I will re-state though, the book is where you will get it all.

We were amazed at how many "older" ---meaning not teenager,-- woman there were at the movie. I don't think the books were meant to target that population, but looking at the audience, I would have swore the book was wrote for the 30-50 year old, female population. I decided it must be our need for the teenage romance aspect of life. Our longing for the good old days, then of course, in high school I didn't have two hot looking boys fighting over me, so maybe it was our teenage dream!

Not much else to say, don't really feel I need to rehash the story. If you like the Twilight Series you won't be disappointed...

P.S. Stay following the credits or you will miss one of the connecting scenes.

See you next week! Looking forward to the start of the Holiday movie sweeps.

Week 46: J Edgar

This week we were slightly influenced by Tiff's father-in-law and decided to got see J Edgar. Not much explaining to do...a movie about someone's version of his life.

My ignorance of politics, government and the like came forward again as I watched the movie, mostly because I didn't realize the extensive influence he had on so many different areas, the card catalog systems, finger printing, FBI development...all very interested and intriguing.

J Edgar was played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I like the way movies keep the actors in the same role for a full length of life, the make-up artists are amazing. DiCaprio did a good job in this role, I think the hardest part was J Edgar was portrayed very oddly. He came across as slighly mental. Maybe he really was that way, but I never would have guessed it based on his accomplishments.

His "partner" and second hand man was played by Armie Hammer, again, watching him age over the years is pretty amazing.

I don't feel like I can say too much about the movie itself without giving away the details (that apparently a lot of people already knew, I just didn't) The actors were extremely believable, the story was pretty intriging, and the make-up was impressive. Hoover's character was sort of creepy though. Whether or not his character was accurately depicted I am not sure, but if it is, he was a "different" sort of man, but then of course many people say the "brilliant" people of the world are the closest to the craziest.

Overall decent movie, not necessarily my cup of tea, but good.

See you in a few!

Week 45: Tower Heist

Well, this week we went for the Hollywood pusher. I have seen more press on this movie in the last month than any other movie. Either they were nervous it wouldn't do as well as they thought, or they had extra money for advertising.

If you happen to be one of the few who haven't seen the previews, the movie is about a high class apartment tower manager who decides to rob the penthouse owner who invested all his workers money and then stole it. The main players of the movie are Allen Alda, Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Brodrick and Casey Affleck.

This movie was funny. I have to say, I did laugh a lot. The premise seemed sort of cheesy, but they seemed to pull it off better than I thought they would. Luckily they didn't try to play the movie off as a "serious" action film, they went for the comedy end instead and I think that is what made it work.

Now when I say "work" what I am really saying is the movie is a typical Hollywood film, with action and comedy. It meets the basic criteria of that average film that meets the needs of all those none thinker movie types. Nothing big to figure out, no thinking involved, just sit and zone and watch. So basically, the movie was entertaining. However, it wasn't anything special. Would be a good renter.

See you next week. AND THEN!!!! TWILIGHT!!!!

Week 44: "The Way"

This movie was such an inspiration. The best way I can think to describe it in a few words is to say "this movie reminded me of reading the book "Eat Pray Love"...I felt so happy and inspired, I felt like I wanted to go on a Pilgramage"

So you may not have heard much about this movie, I actually hadn't heard anything about it before going, I didn't know it existed. I am sure glad we discovered it. I looked up some information online about the movie to get a better idea of the whole background story, and found a good description that I will just quote here..I took this from Wikipedia

"The Way is a 2010 American drama film. It is a collaboration between Martin Sheen and his real life son Emilio Estevez, to honour the Camino de Santiago and promote pilgrimage. Not wanting to appeal to one demographic, Emilio Estevez called the film "pro people, pro life — not anti — anything."

The main actors in the movie, Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez (although not in the movie much as he is the dead son) Deborah Ungar, James Nesbitt and Yorick van Wageningen all just fit together so well. I sort of felt like I was just watching a documentary of 4 people making this wonderful journey. The movie wasn't necessarily fasted paced, but for some reason I was totally engrossed the whole time. I loved the scenery, I enjoyed the light humor and I appreciated the deep content and reflection. I want to walk the Camino de Santagio. Maybe someday....

I would recommend this movie to anyone who is looking for a little inspiration, who loves to travel and who enjoys the journey of life.

See you next week! (or later this week :)

Week 43: The Three Musketeers

Well, I happened to see Tiff's review for this movie before I started typing mine. We actually didn't say much to eachother about the movie when it was over...really we usually don't, but I have to say...I agree with her 100%. This movie was actually quite horrible. I didn't recognize any of the actors in the movie, and it wasn't until the end credits were run that I realized Orlando Bloom was actually one of them.

Individually I think some of these actors could be great in the right movie. This movie just wasn't it. The story is the same as every other Three Musketeers movie. There men, joined by a 4th younger Musketeer, try to save the day...I think the place where this movie went wrong was that it was set in the 17th century, but was played as if it was 2011. Flying ships in the 17th century..so wrong!

I like the 17th century movies...I am actually craving one..I hope one comes out soon. This movie just didn't do it for me.

As far as the actors go...I liked the character names better..Athos, Aramis, Porthos, D'Artagnan...cool names! I won't even mention the actors names, because as Tiff said, they are really quite forgettable. Let's wait until they come out in something more memorable.

Maybe we will hit the spot next week. We are de for something we both love.

See you then!

Week 42: The Ides of March

Well, I looked up The Ides of March, because I didn't know what the title of this movie meant. Basically there are a few significant historical happenings that developed into the Ides of March. Literally it is the Roman Calendar day that corresponds with our March 15th. Another significant happening was that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC. The title of this movie seems to most closely correspond to the Roman consular year, since the elected Roman consuls took office on the Ides. So...now I know why this movie was titled as such, and so do you. :)

So, this movie wasn't necessarily a movie I had any intentions of seeing. The main reason...it's political, and I am politically ignorant, with no desire to become knowledgeable. I know, it's a sad case for an American to admit, but it's true, politics make me crazy. None the less, this was the movie we attended this week.

If I was political, I think this movie would have been exceptional. George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, and Philip Seymour Hoffman did exceptional as the dirty, game playing, backstabbing, race you to the top men of politics. (Have I mentioned before I don't like politics...) Really, the storyline was pretty believable, but how can I really say? I don't know politics, so many it just followed the storyline of what I believe politics to be. Each man played their parts well, they seemed like politician, then again, I think actors and politicians can be one in the same sometimes.

I guess what I am getting at, I didn't necessarily enjoy this movie, I don't understand or "get" the political games, so I didn't really like watching it in movie form either. If you like politics, go see it and let me know what you think..I am interested in hearing what you have to say.

See you next week!

Week 40: 50/50

Wow...if we are on week 40 that means we only have 12 more weeks/movies this year. I am so suprised how fast it went, and I can't believe we have seen so many movies!! What great fun we are having!!

So, I am a little slow posting as this was really last weeks movie, and we have already gone to this week's movie, so lets see if we can get caught up.

So we went and saw 50/50. Looked like a different kind of movie. Cancer with humor is what it was played up to be. Probably because Seth Rogan starred in it and he tends to always go the comedy route. Also, Joseph Gordon-Levitt played the main character, and I think he tends to do comedy as well. Anna Kendrick played the main female character.

So, with that cast I wasn't sure what to expect. Well...it was different. There was funniness, romance, seriousness, and all in all a real life feel. The story follows a guy who finds out he has cancer, and basically goes through his story. How he deals with it, how is friends deal with it, and how is family deals with it. Like I said, it just had a real life sort of feel to it. I felt like I was really just watching a guy with cancer, and getting a look into his everyday life.

I have to say I was most impressed with Anna Kendrick. She has played in "Twilight", "Up in the Air", and now this. (She has done lots of Broadway shows too!) She has a certain character type, and I don't know that she could change that too much, but it fit in this movie.

Basically, it was a movie about a real life crisis and they played it that way. I can't say it was the greatest movie in the world, but it wasn't bad. Maybe more of a renter....Coming up next "Footloose"

Another Bonus Review: Dolphin Tales

So, this must have been the week of movies...yes, I actually went to three movies this week...and I am not ashamed at all, I love movies and I am glad I get to go. (Ok, so maybe I overkill movies some, but oh well)

I took the family to see "Dolphin Tales". All my kids were just dying to see this movie and couldn't wait for it to come out, so we saw it the second day after opening. Brian and I were a little excited to see it as well, the previews looked good and I like movies based on true stories.

The story is about a dolphin who gets caught in a fisherman's trap and loses his tail. The dolphin, Winter, is found by a boy who makes a connection with the dolphin. The dolphin is taken to a rehabilitation center for sea animals, and the movie follows the dolphins journey to recovery and the lives of all those who are helping him.

The main characters, besides Winter the dolphin, in this movie include the boy, Sawyer-played by Nathan Gamble, his mom, played by Ashley Judd, the vet-played by Harry Connick Jr and his daughter, played by Cozi Zuehlsorff.

Again, kind of like Moneyball, the story really plays the movie more than the actors. The movie was well played and all the characters were very natural in their roles. I like Harry Connick in movies, he is sort of a low key natural. I was pretty impressed with Cozi, who played the 11 year old daughter. She will probably be seen in more movies in the future I am guessing.

My kids really like the movie as well. An inspiring story, and neat to see the real clips at the end as well as find the website following Winter's progress.

Highly recommended family movie with good vibes and happy endings! See you soon

Week 39: Moneyball

Running a little behind on the reviews this week! As Tiff mentioned, we say "Moneyball" from a free screening this week, and also a sneak peek at a preview for "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

I am a pretty big "sports movie" person. I like the thrill of competition and the whole build up of characters to a final win, so I thought this movie would be pretty good, and it was...however, I feel like I was somewhat underappreciate of the whole story line. Not that I don't appreciate the game of baseball, trading and drafting, but rather that I don't really understand all the statistics of the game, and in actuality don't really care to learn that much detail.

This movie was based on a true story about Billy Beane, played by Brad Pitt, and his work to use an age old stategy to draft a baseball team and lead them to a higher level of play and wins. (in a small...very small nutshell)

This movie was entertaining to me. I think Brad Pitt did okay, I don't think he is a great actor or anything, the story was more interesting to me than his acting. What I was more impressed with was all the supporting actors. Jonah Hill did a great job as the right hand man. He was were most of the laughs came from. Some of the actors who played the baseball players in this movie did a good job as well. I think what I found though, was that they were good, because they really just seemed like a group of baseball players. Nothing outstanding, but just sports men.

I was intrigued with the way this whole story portrayed a change in baseball, and how it influenced baseball. I am still completely amazed at the constant trading, bargaining and playing that happens with the sports world.

Overall, I have to say that this movie would be best watched by all those sports fanatics. If I can enjoy it with my little knowledge of baseball and all it's strategy...someone with a lot of knowledge will definately be happy they went.

See you next time!

Bonus Review: Contagion

My husband and I decided to take in the AMC Cinema Suites last week and went to the movie Contagion. This was a movie Tiff and I were hoping to see, so I decided I would write up a review, hopefully Tiff will get to it as well.

I think the most impressionable thing about this movie wasn't necessarily the acting. I actually think it could have been somewhat of a documentary. No one actor really stuck out to me. Gwyneth Paltrow played a rather little and insignificant part in my mind. (ok, so not insignificant, rather limited movie time and not significant as an actor) Matt Damon did a good job, but again, it was really the story that made the movie. The unfolding of a contagious disease and the speed at which it can spread worldwide. The whole idea was pretty scary, even working in the healthcare field, I found myself becoming a little germaphobic. (Not to mention both my husband and I decided this movie wasn't the best for a dinner theatre atmosphere)

I think the impressionable thing about this movie was really just the realization that what we see in the news, regarding mass deaths from diseases can actually be so much worse than we imagine. Also, that behind it all the government can be extremely controlling and make our lives seem so insignificant..when they shouldn't.

I recommend this movie more for the message. Again, the acting was pretty insignificant to me...anyone could have played in it and I would have walked out feeling the same way.

Go see it, or rent it, but don't eat while you watch it!

Week 38: I Don't Know How She Does It

A little slow on posting this..maybe because I have been thinking about why I wan't really impressed with this movie. I have a had a little time to mull over this, and I think I know why. I resently say an episode of Sex in the City, as well as part of "Did you hear about the Morgans", both with Sarah Jessica Parker. The movie this week also starred her. She literally could have been the same character in all three cases. I don't necessarily think she is a bad actress, mostly that she just is a one character actress.

Okay, that being said, the movie follows Kate, a higher class working wife and mother of 2 children. Her job is in corporate america and involves a lot of travel and time. Basically she is working to be "super mom"..(what working mother isn't)? The movie follows the ups and downs of her marriage, her job and her trying to fit in with the other mothers (who don't work). There were some notable actors in the movie, Pierce Bronson, Kelsey Grammer, Greg Kinnear, and Christina Hedricks. My favorites were actually two not so prominant roles played by Busy Phillips (I love her!) and Oliva Munn.

I won't really go into many of the details, because if you are a working mother and wife you can probably guess what the movie entails. I guess, nothing to exciting or adventurous...simply LIFE.

Although I wasn't too impressed, I will say, I loved that the movie was generally wholesome. The lesson was strong and the meaning was good.

Really, this was just an average movie. Some good laughs, some hearfelt moments, but really a weekend rental when you have nothing else to do.

See you again soon!