Flimmaker's reviews

Assassination of a High School President:***


I love Neo-Noir films. Especially ones set in High School. Assassination of a High School President is one clearly set in high school. On the outside it seems somewhat similar to another good neo-noir film called Brick. But Brick had no adults and had a more serious tone to it's unrealistic but fun premise. Assassination of a High School President seems more like a satire somewhat similar to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It embraces it's unrealistic but fun premise.

by Funke (Reece Thompson) is a less than popular high school sophomore with a dream to get into Northwestern University's summer journalism program. Although Bobby claims he's a great writer, he's never finished an article for St. Donovan's School Newspaper. The editor-in-chief Clara, (Melonie Diaz), assigns Bobby to do an article on Paul Moore, the student body president. Bobby attempts to get an interview, but is unable to get a story out of Paul and is bullied by Paul's friends. Paul is the star of the basketball team and on a game night, Paul takes a fall and injures his knee. The next morning Principal Kirkpatrick (Bruce Willis) discovers the SATs have been stolen from a safe in his office. Kirkpatrick rounds up his "usual suspects" of high school misfits along with Bobby to question them. The group is innocent but Kirkpatrick warns them all to watch their step.

When senior Francesca Facchini (Mischa Barton) solicits Bobby's help tracking down the set of stolen SATs, Funke uncovers a story. He sets on a large scale investigation and links Paul Moore to the crime. He writes an article pointing the finger at Paul. Kirkpatrick forces Paul to open his locker and the SATs fall out. As a result of his sleuthing, Funke becomes one of the most popular kids at St. Donovan's. Clara decides to submit Funke's article to Northwestern which earns Bobby a scholarship to the summer program. Funke wins the respect of everyone from Principal Kirkpatrick to the kid that farts on him in Spanish class and Francesca takes Funke to homecoming. As Funke's popularity grows so do his suspicions. Paul confronts Bobby, proclaiming his innocence, stating that he got into Cornell but decided to take the test again to see if he could get a better score. Funke begins to wonder if the president really stole the SATs or if he's just a pawn in a conspiracy.

Assassination of a High School President has many twists. There are more towards the end of the film that you didn't really see coming. It's writing is surprisingly smart. Recce Thompson does well in the starring role. His character development of Bobby is fun to watch. He shows up Bobby going from think and approaching things one way to doing it another way. Bruce Willis is also funny as the principal. Could be his best comedic role yet. Mischa Barton has taken a lot of heat for her acting abilities. She is beautiful no question. But her performance on the OC was one that people felt brought down the show. Here she did a good job. She was captivating, interesting, charming. She acted well.

Brick was more in line to classic neo-noir. This film is paying homage, but adds comic relief. I laughed quite a bit. I was entertained. This is a movie that goes though hoops a lot of things. But doesn't take time to explain it. It just keeps going with it.

It isn't groundbreaking. But as teen films go, it is one of the quality ones out there. The film had been scheduled for limited theatrical release on February 27, 2009, but that release was postponed indefinitely following the bankruptcy of its distributor, Yari Film Group's releasing division. It was instead released on dvd. Shame more people weren't able to see this film. It is a nice watch.

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Going 18600 miles per second.

Failure to Launch:*


I came home drunk after a party. And I wondered what is a movie that is the least common denominator that I could watch? And what movie could I stare at Zooey Deschanel? Failure to Launch came to movie. And it provided both. Mindless entertainment to a tee, and the definition of bad acting with the exception of Deschanel is shown in Failure to Launch. Someone gets bit my a chipmunk and lizard, a 35 year old who is successful is living with his parents. That is this movie.

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey), a 35-year-old man, is still living with his parents Al (Terry Bradshaw) and Sue (Kathy Bates), in Baltimore, Maryland. Tripp's best friends Demo (Bradley Cooper) and nerdy Ace (Justin Bartha) are also still living in their parents' homes and seem proud of it. Al and Sue are not happy, and are fascinated when friends whose adult son has recently moved away from home reveal that they hired an expert to arrange the matter.

The expert is Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), who theorises that men continue to live at home out of low self-esteem. Her approach is to establish a relationship with the man to build up his confidence and transfer his attachment from his parents to her. Her step-by-step process is deceitful; while avoiding physical intimacy, she allows her subject to fall in love with her, pretending to like what he likes, allowing him to help her through a (false) crisis, obtaining the approval of his friends, and giving him the opportunity to teach her something: he then moves out to become more independent.

Tripp is soon discovered to not fit any of Paula's previous profiles, having normal social skills and no problems with self-esteem. He does not commit to long term relationships, and uses his living with parents as a dumping mechanism. After an awkward encounter with his parents, Paula thwarts his attempt to dump her, stays for the night, all the while developing real feelings for him. They find themselves sailing unfamiliar waters and confide with their friends.

Paula's vocation exasperates her terminally-hip roommate, Kit (Zooey Deschanel), who believes that Paula's own breakup with a live-at-home man is the unhealthy motivation behind the job to which she has given over her whole life. Paula, on the other hand, is shocked when the true reason for Tripp's situation is revealed to her: His life essentially collapsed when the woman he was engaged to suddenly died, leaving him emotionally devastated, and his family has been his source of solace ever since. She read her mark all wrong.

Entrepreneurial Ace discovers what is going on and blackmails Paula for a date with Kit; although Kit is more attracted to slacker Demo, the pair wind up bonding over a problem and fall in love. Ace spills the beans to Demo, who in turn ultimately reveals all to Tripp, leading to the film's crisis. Tripp confronts both his parents and Paula, who split in bitterness and guilt, and Tripp moves out, possibly never to speak to his parents or trust a woman again. Wracked with guilt, Paula refunds Al and Sue's money, but can't escape being scathingly dressed down by Kit for essentially being an arrogant con artist.

After an awkward confrontation (due to his father's new interest in naturism), Tripp manages to forgive his parents despite not understanding why they couldn't be upfront with him. Still, he can't forgive Paula for her manipulations.

Failure to Launch is so unbelievable in every aspect. The flow of this film is off very much. Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Mconaughey have zero chemistry. Their scenes in particular were horrible to watch. But to be fair to them, it isn't as if they had help with the writing. Who wrote this script? It is so awful.

The lone bright side of the film is Zooey Deschanel. Her performance is excellent. I am a fan of hers and she shows why. She is funny and charming. The other actors could have taken lessons from her on what to do. Then maybe they would have made up for how lame the movie was.

Failure to Launch attempts to be a good comedy. But instead with it's plot and the majority of its acting just falls flat. It isn't funny, nothing other than Deschanel works. It is just rather stupid. Is it worth a watch? Nope not really. But I will say if you a drunk then maybe it is worth a watch.

Death at a Funeral:*** and a half


Funerals are usually very solemn. I have been to a few myself. Death at Funeral throws that all away and shows perhaps the craziest funeral that you will ever see. I am sure. A comedy with tons of laughs. It is funny from the start to the end.

The film revolves around the funeral ceremony for the father of Aaron (Chris Rock) and Ryan (Martin Lawrence). Aaron, the older son, lives with his wife Michelle (Regina Hall) at his parent's home. Aaron and Michelle have been trying to buy their own home and have children but have been unsuccessful. Aaron envies Ryan because Ryan is a successful writer, while he has not had his novel published, and resents his brother because he would rather spend money on two first class tickets (for himself) from New York to L.A. than help him pay for the funeral expenses.

Aaron and Ryan's cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) and her fiancé Oscar (James Marsden) are on their way to pick up her brother Jeff (Columbus Short) before heading to the funeral. To ease Oscar's nerves, she gives him a pill from a bottle labeled as Valium. Jeff later reveals to Elaine that it is actually a powerful hallucinogenic drug he's concocted for a friend. Chaos ensues when Oscar hallucinates that the coffin is moving; he knocks it over, and the body falls out of the coffin.

Aaron is approached by an unknown guest, a dwarf named Frank (Peter Dinklage, reprising his role from the original film), who reveals himself to be the secret lover of his deceased father. Frank shows Aaron photos as proof and threatens to reveal them to Aaron's mother unless he is paid $30,000. Aaron tells Ryan, who suggest Aaron pay the money because Ryan claims he's buried in debt. While Aaron and Ryan meet with him to pay him, Frank starts to deride Aaron's ability as writer and Aaron refuses to pay. Frank begins to turn violent and puts his hand in his pocket (hinting he may have a gun) and tries to leave the room; Ryan attacks Frank and both Aaron and Ryan tie Frank up to prevent him from leaving. Norman (Tracy Morgan) comes in and sees what happened. He gives Frank several doses of what he also believes is Valium to try to calm him down, before Jeff tells them it's actually the same hallucinogen Oscar took earlier.

While Jeff and Norman, who are supposed to be watching Frank, get distracted by Uncle Russell (Danny Glover), Frank frees himself from his bonds, jumps off the couch, and hits his head on the coffee table. With Aaron, Ryan, Jeff and Norman believing Frank is dead, they plan to put him in the coffin. While everyone is outside watching Oscar, who is now naked on the roof, threatening to jump because he saw elaine's ex-boyfriend Derek (Luke Wilson) kissing her, Aaron and Ryan put Frank in the coffin.


Death at a Funeral is one of the funniest films in the last ten years. It ranks right up there with the Hangover and Ted for comedies in bad taste but just makes us laugh. What is impressive is that it never runs out of steam just like those two films. Jokes are never lame, the acting is solid. It benefits from a really smart script.


Death at a Funeral has much in bad taste. There were some scenes you go "Oh my". Real crazy things. For the prudes that could turn them off. For the over sesensitive well that could also turn them off. Me? I found the parts in bad taste to be the best and funniest parts.

(Second viewing) 127 Hours:****


Everyone knows the story of Aron Ralston story. The guy goes mountaineering without telling anyone. And he literally gets trapped between a rock in a hard place. He gets himself out only after have to severs his arm. It is a story that was inspiring and got much publicity. I remember it like it was yesterday. 127 Hours is about that whole situation. And it covers it extremely well. So well that Ralston said that it is "so factually accurate it is as close to a documentary as you can get and still be a drama," and added that he thought it is "the best film ever made."

Aron Ralston (James Franco) is taking a trip. He tells no one as he wants to be alone and not be disturbed. The next morning after he crashes trying to cut 45 minutes off of his guide book's estimated time given to reach his destination while riding his mountain bike he meets two girls named Kristi (Kate Mara) and Megan (Amber Tamblyn). They are apparently lost. Ralston convinces the girls that he is a tour guide and offers to take them through a more interesting route. He leads them through Robbers Roost narrow canyons where a underground pool is. The three record themselves jumping into the canyon repeatedly. After that the girl invite him to a party they are throwing. He promises to attend. But the girls doubt he will show up. They feel Aron seems like the kind of guy that is in his own world.

Ralston continues into Blue John Canyon, through a narrow passage where boulders are suspended, wedged between the walls of rock. As he descends, one boulder is jarred loose, falling after Ralston to the bottom of the canyon and pinning his right arm against the canyon wall, trapping him. He initially yells for help, but the extreme isolation of his location means that nobody is within earshot. As he resigns himself to the fact that he is on his own, he begins recording a video diary on his camera and using his pocket multi-tool to attempt to chip away at the boulder. He also begins rationing his water and food.

As he realizes his efforts to chip away at the boulder are futile, he begins to attempt to cut into his arm, but finds his knife too dull to break his skin. He then stabs his arm, but realizes he will not be able to cut through the bone. He finds himself out of water and is forced to drink his own urine. His video logs become more and more desperate as he feels himself dying. He begins dreaming about relationships and past experiences, including a former lover (Clémence Poésy), family (Lizzy Caplan, Treat Williams, Kate Burton), and the two hikers he met before his accident. After reflecting upon his life, he comes to the realization that everything he has done has led him to this ordeal, and that he was destined to die alone in the canyon.

After five days, Ralston sees his unborn son through a premonition. He gathers the will to apply enough force to his forearm to break it and eventually severs his arm with the dull knife, fashioning a crude tourniquet out of the insulation for his CamelBak tube and using a carabiner to tighten it. He wraps the stump of his arm and takes a picture of the boulder that trapped him as he leaves it behind. He then makes his way out of the canyon, where he is forced to rappel down a 65 ft rockface and hike several miles before, exhausted and covered in blood, he finally runs into a family on a day hike. The family sends for help and Ralston is evacuated by a Utah Highway Patrol helicopter.

James Franco performance is the film as he is the only actor here who gets a real amount of screen time. He carried the whole film. He conveyed to us what Ralston must have been going through. He showed fear, pain, sorriness, acceptance, and strength. He also suggest two things about Ralston. 1. He is cocky and a bit selfish, like to do things his own way, and takes risks. 2. He is logical and bloody minded enough to cut part of his own arm off to save his life. One aspect gets gets him into this issue, the other resolves it.

Aron Ralston the way the film described him seemed to be a guy who felt like he could do whatever he wanted to in a way. And after he gets stuck started to reflect and see the error of his ways. He sees that perhaps that he should have been more open to people and not selfish. That is real life person development. And the fact that Franco was able to convey that is astounding.

Is it watchable? Yes. But it's pacing is very interesting. And it gets gory. The blood and him breaking off his arm was also done so well. It looked very real. The makeup artist earned their pay on this one. It was so hard to watch. Each time he did something you felt his pain. 127 Hours is an accomplishment to make a film out something that perhaps was impossible to do.

127 Hours is not about a hero. It is about a guy who gets himself in a bad situation because of himself. A guy who had to make a choice to live or die. A choice that cost him part of his arm. A choice that most people might have a hard time to make it they faced it. He did what he had to do. And anyone of us could have done the same. I really and truly believe that.

Chaplin:**


Charlie Chaplin was perhaps the great comic actor of all time. I remember when I got to watch one of his silent films Modern Times in History class. Everyone was cracking up. That is how timeless his films were. His Biopic Chaplin tries to show his life and career. I was excited to watch this. I love biopics when they are done right. Raging Bull, Casino, The Aviator, and The Pianist examples of some great biopics that I love. Sad to say that I was disappointed with Chaplin. You expect something fun and meaningful going in. But get over dramatic.

Charlie Chaplin (Robert Downey Jr) is now elderly and is now living in Switzerland with his wife Oona O'Neil (Moria Kelly) and children. He is being interviewed for his biography by George Hayden (Anthony Hopkins). This sets up flashbacks on how he got started in the entertainment industry as a kid. How it fascinated him.

The film continues to show his growth in age and acting. He gets more serious about it. He is now a big time stage actor. He surrounds himself with good people as well. When he moves to the United States his career really takes off. This is when he started making the 81 films that we know and love.

The film also shows many of the scandals and relationships he had with women like Mildred Harris (Milla Jovovich), Lita Grey (Debroah Moore), And Paulette Goddard (Diane Lane). Also the whole ordeal between Chaplin and Joan Barry (Nancy Travis).

Robert Downey Jr as Charlie Chaplin is rather remarkable. He turns into him. He looks just like him. He embodies his whimsical attitude. Shows Chaplin for the serious performer he was. He for sure deserved his academy award nomination. He flows like Chaplin, he acts just like he did. He doesn't try to hard. He just let it happen. His acting is sometimes taken for granted. But Downey Jr is truly a great actor. No bones about that.

But the film over dramatized everything. I know it is a biopic. But not everything is the Aviator where the source had a dramatic life. I wasn't there. But surely it wasn't like this for Chaplin. He wasn't a drunk or addicted to drugs. He just had a few wives and was involved with a crazy girl. Also the film feels restrictive. Chaplin's life was amazing. He did so many things, it was just so vast and varied. The movie doesn't cover all that. It tries to hard to cover all it's bases that ends up feeling rushed. It doesn't give it justice.

Chaplin is a film that could have been great. Should have been to. Robert Downey Jr and everyone involved gave great performances. But alas it is simply an over glossy biopic instead of a true look at the life at someone who was larger than life.

40 Year Old Virgin:*** and a half


40 Year Old Virgin is a movie about a man who has lived a very mediocre life. His name is Andy Sitzer (Steve Carrell). He is a nice guy. Hecollects little action figures, works on them, makes a perfect breakfast, he rides a bike, and works at Smart Tech. Only thing he is a virgin. This is discovered when his co workers David (Paul Rudd), Jay (Romany Malco), and Cal (Seth Rogen) invite him to play poker. He tells a ridiculous lie about having sex and they realize that they have been avoiding him for a reason and his lifestyles makes sense.

Now they all try to get him some. He is 40 years old. One would think he would have done it at least a few times by now. But alas Andy tried and failed when he was a young man, and kind of just gave up. He goes through trails like his co workers taking him to a club. Andy was going to get laid too by a girl named Nicky (Leslie Mann) but she nearly kills him, vomits on him and even though she says he can still have sex with her, he declines. Things seem hopeless for him. Then after he gets promoted to the floor he meets Trish Piedmont (Catherine Keener). She owns a store but really gets stuff and sells it on ebay. They hit it off and connect and she gives him her number. He wants to call her. But his friends say no because he would suck at sex and he wouldn't want to suck at sex with a girl he likes. That he should have sex with "hood rats" first then give it a go with her so he is at least mediocre.

Andy tries this and even meets a attractive girl named Beth (Elizabeth Banks). He starts to understand how to hit on girls more and more now. But he still wants Trish. He ends up calling her. And they set up a date. And they were about to have sex when her 16 year old daughter Marla (Kat Dennings) walked in. This starts a relationship that gets rather interesting.

40 year old Virgin. Is very funny. All the jokes land and make sense. What surprised me about the movie is how nice, sweet and wise it is. And after you watch and the more you think about it, 40 Year old Virgin becomes a better movie in your head. This was a star making performance for Steve Carrell. He doesn't act goofy. He plays it very straight and very well. He shows Andy as a nice guy, who is scared. Who means well and just wants to be happy. It is a very nice performance. And Catherine Keener was performance for the role of Trish. There is a scene at the end of the film that I am not sure anyone else could have done.

40 Year Old Virgin is a funny, sweet and smart comedy. It doesn't make fun of virgins. It doesn't even promote pre marital sex. If you can take anything away from the movie that 1. If you want to hae sex, just go and put yourself out there it will happen. And 2. Saving yourself for marriage is also a good thing.

What's Your Number?** and a half


What's Your Number is a romantic comedy based of the book 20 times a lady by Jennifer Crittenden. It has a simple premise and is easy to follow for the most part. The characters themselves are nice for the most part. But the comedy itself seems to fall flat as it feels like something you have seen before.

Allison "Ally" Darling (Anna Faris) just broke up with her boyfriend who refuses to attend her sister Daisy Anne (Ari Granyor) wedding with her. She is different than most girls. She seems like a bit of a mess. That is confirmed when the minute she walks into work her boss Roger (Joel McHale) fires her. Now she is single and unemployed. On the train with her box of belongings from work she reads in a magazine that the average woman sleeps with 10.5 guys. She thinks that is too low and wonders how many guys she has slept with.

Ally realizes after some research that she has slept with 19 guys. She feels somewhat embarrassed by this. That same night after a party celebrating her sister's engagement her, her sister and their friends go out. She sees Roger at the bad and he pays for her drinks. She finds this somewhat sweet. My question with this was why isn't she more mad at Roger? Anyway she goes to drink with her sister and her girlfriends. She wants to see how many guys each girl has slept with. One girl has slept with 13 guys. She tries to lie about her number but it is discovered that it is 19. She talks about the magazine she read. One of her friends inform her that if the average woman sleeps with 20 men that she will never get married. This scares Ally. So much that (while drunk) makes a pact to not have anymore sex and the next guy she has sex with she will marry. Of course the next morning she wakes up next to Roger. She almost wants to give him a chance before she sees him sniffing his fingers after shoving it down somewhere.

Now she wants to get rid of him. He wants to make conversation and has interest with her. Her neighbor Colin (Chris Evans) comes over. It is revealed that he is a player. He is trying to avoid a situation with one of his one night stands. He helps Ally avoid having to go out with Roger. I will say that in his short time on screen, Joel McHale's performance is memorable. Now this is where the ground work for Colin and Ally's relationship starts. He says he saw a youtube video of her proclaiming her pact. She asks him how he saw it so quickly. He said he family is full of police officers and he has it in his blood.

Ally while talking to Daisy comes to the conclusion that if Daisy is able to get back together and marry her ex boyfriend (who cheated on her), she could find an ex and make it work with one of them. She then remembers what Colin said and convinces him to dig up dirt on the other 19 people that she has slept with. During this time we see Ally and Colin grow closer. Ally is so blinded by her search that she doesn't see it. But Colin starts having feelings.

Anna Faris did a excellent job as Ally. She was real, funny, full of pitty, charming, and strong. Chris Evans was funny as Colin. Though in the dramatic scenes I was less than impressed (he is better in the Avengers). But what bothers me is how predictable this film is. I could see everything coming with a mile start. And the comedy is the same. The source is a solid one. It is a shame they weren't more clever.

What's Your Number? Could have been better if it went against the norm like the book it is based off did. Instead it falls into the same trap a lot of romantic comedies do. It feels like what it's doing is enough and it doesn't need more substance.

It is a film that is barely watchable. The performances are fun. It worth multiple viewings? Nope. Is it worth one? I am not sure about that.

Ever After A Cinderella Story:***


Ever After A Cinderella Story is a lovely film with a slightly different take on Cinderella's story. The Grande Dame Marie Thérèse Charlotte de France (Jeanne Moreau) summons the brothers Grimm to set the story straight about the tale of Cinderella. There was a girl named Danielle de Barbarac who was eight and lived with her father Auguste de Barbarac (Jeroen Krabbe). She had just lost her mother when Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Angelica Houston) comes in to marry Auguste with her children Marguérite de Ghent and Jacqueline de Ghent. As he is going on a trip he has a heart attack and dies, leaving Danielle an orphan.

Fast forward years later Danielle (Drew Barrymore) is now all grown up. So are her step sister Marguérite (Megan Dodds) and Jacqueline (Melanie Lynskey). Her step mother Rodmillia has forced her to be servant now that her father is dead. Danielle does so without a complain. She holds her tongue. Her life has turned completely upside down but she remains very graceful about everything. Meanwhile prince Henry (Dougray Scott) is having a few problems. His father King Francis (Timothy West) wants him to get betrothed via an arranged marriage. Henry has other plans. He wants to fall in love.

So Henry runs away from home. He steals of of the horses at Danielle's home. Danielle spots him and mistakes him for a theft as he is wearing a cloak. When he takes that off, she realizes that he is the prince and bows down and asks for forgiveness. He isn't mad, he understands and he is intrigued by her will. He gives her gold coins to not say anything and he leaves. On his way out he even sees Leonardo Da Vinchi (Patrick Godfrey). Later Danielle dresses up and goes to see the prince. She decides to go by her mother's name the Comtesse Nicole de Lancret. He is instantly intrigued with her just like he was when he say her earlier. Only he doesn't know it is her. They have secret meetings. At first she doesn't like him. But she grows to see that he is more than what meets the eye and falls in love with him just as he does with her.

Rodmilla finds out about this when the Queen (Judy Parfitt) asks her about the Comtesse Nicole de Lancret living with her. She lies to the Queen and tells her that she is engaged and is about to leave to get married to a Belgium. This gets Danielle in trouble. Later events lead to her mother's book of writing getting burnt up in a fire. Now that Henry also thinks that Danielle is gone to be married he decides to go get married. He now has nothing to lose. The events after this are true to the classic story and provide it's own little twist.

Ever After A Cinderella story is such a nice film. The strong point is the romance as it is so passionate. Drew Barrymore and Dougray Scott have such amazing chemistry. Speaking of Drew Barrymore, when I came into this movie, I thought it might just be another kiddie version of Cinderella. What I got was something so passionate and filled with romance and zest like The Mask of Zorro. Also it reminded me what a great actress Drew Barrymore is. How she has the ability to dissolve into a role, grab the screen and allow us to indulge into her characters. This was truly one of her best performances. She nailed the accent, was stunning, passionate, sad, happy, cheerful, and gave us so many reasons to cheer for him. And that is Cinderella.

What makes this film different from other Cinderella live action films in that it makes it it's own. It doesn't just relay on it's source. It comes up with it's own ideas and merge it. The script was very well done. The setting was beautiful too. I felt I was transformed into another world.

Ever After A Cinderella story is everything all the other live action Cinderella films are not. There have been a few other good ones. But not as good as this. It is passionate, has great acting, a good script, beautiful setting, and is a treat to watch. It makes the classic proud.

Seabiscuit:****


Seabiscuit was the little horse that could. He went against all odds and won races when no thought he would even be a factor. It it the ultimate underdog story.

Three men, Red Pollard (Tobey Maguire), Charles S. Howard (Jeff Bridges), and Tom Smith (Chris Cooper) come together as the principal jockey, owner, and trainer of the championship horse Seabiscuit, rising from troubled times to achieve fame and success through their association with the horse.

Red is the child of a wealthy family that is financially ruined by the Great Depression. In desperate need of money, the family leaves Red with a horse trainer. Red eventually becomes a jockey, but makes extra money through illegal boxing matches which leave him almost blind in one eye. Howard is a clerk in a bicycle shop who gets asked by a passing motorist to repair his automobile, a technology which has recently been introduced. As a result Howard becomes knowledgeable enough with automobiles to increase their performance and sell them as a dealer, eventually becoming the largest car dealer in California and one of the Bay Area's richest men. However, his son is killed in an automobile accident while driving the family car, which sends Howard into a bout of deep depression, which eventually results in his wife (Valerie Mahaffey) leaving him.

On a trip to Mexico to obtain a divorce and to drown his sorrows, he meets Marcela (Elizabeth Banks). Marcela helps Howard overcome his depression, mainly through horse-riding. After marrying Marcela, Howard acquires a stable of horses and later has a chance encounter with the skilled and kindly horse trainer and drifter Smith. Howard hires Smith to manage his stables after Smith, who specializes in rehabilitating injured and abused horses, explains to Howard "You don't throw a life away, just because they are banged up a little". Smith convinces Howard to acquire the colt "Seabiscuit", who comes from noted lineage but had been deemed "incorrigible" by past handlers and was later broken and trained to lose against better horses.

Smith is unable to find a jockey willing to deal with Seabiscuit's temperament, but after witnessing Red Pollard brawling with other stable boys, he sees in him a similar temperament to the feisty horse and decides to appoint him as Seabiscuit's jockey. Seabiscuit and Pollard become close and they begin to race. After overcoming early difficulties, such as a dismissive media and Pollard's anger issues and blind eye, Seabiscuit begins to earn considerable success and becomes an extremely popular underdog for the millions affected by the Great Depression. Inspired, Howard tries repeatedly to provoke a race with the mocking New York tycoon Samuel Riddle and his fearsome stallion "War Admiral", the top race horse in the country. Riddle eventually relents to a match race on his terms between War Admiral and Seabiscuit, but while the date approaches, Pollard is injured in a riding accident, fracturing his leg. When the doctor reports that he will be unable to ride again, Red suggests that Howard get an old friend, the successful jockey George Woolf (Gary Stevens) to be Seabiscuit's new rider.

Red teaches Woolf about Seabiscuit's handling and mannerisms. At the match race, Seabiscuit upsets the heavy favorite, War Admiral, partly because of a secret that Pollard relates to Woolf, instructing him to hold him head to head with the other horse so he gets "a good look at the Admiral." Later on, Seabiscuit is racing at Santa Anita when he is injured and has to stop. Red helps him to recover and get fit enough to race again. The last race is again at the Santa Anita, and Red rides him this time after putting a special self-made brace on his own leg to keep it stable. Woolf is on a different horse. Seabiscuit drops to last place and trails the pack, but Woolf holds back to be alongside Red. After a short conversation, Seabiscuit surges and wins the race.

Seabiscuit uses it's real life source for the majority of it's storytelling. That is what makes this story so great. In real life it had a Hollywood ending. It is inspiring, tragic then inspiring. Jeff Bridges is such a great actor. He is the one of the best character actors out there. No matter what role he goes into he gives it 100% and plays it so well. It's astounding to watch.

Tobey Maguire is also great. We all know him as Spiderman. But here he shows range. He is able to really dig in and become this jockey. He makes us feel that he is really an underdog. Elizabeth Banks is also good her role, same with Chris Cooper. It is a movie where all the actors dive in, believe in the story, and gave amazing performances.

Not a big horse racing fan. But I have always respected the sport. It is intense and almost pure chance. So when a horse comes along and can win a lot of races especially against all odds it is something special. Seabiscuit did that. He showed that we should never give up.

Knight and Day:***


I was waiting for the day Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise starred in a film together. Thought it might be a romantic comedy. But a action comedy film? Indeed. That is Knight and Day. And it works too.

The film follows the adventures of Roy Miller (Tom Cruise), a spy on the run, and June Havens (Cameron Diaz), a car refurbisher. Miller is seen watching Havens, and he bumps into her a couple of times as they go through security at Wichita Airport. Havens is making her way back home to Boston from Wichita, Kansas after picking up spare parts for her deceased father's classic Pontiac GTO car, that she is restoring for her sister as a wedding gift. Even though she has a confirmed reservation for her flight, she is told at the gate that it is overbooked. Miller, able to board, whispers to her that "sometimes things happen for a reason". Unbeknownst to Havens, Federal agent Fitzgerald (Peter Sarsgaard) is monitoring Miller's movements and, believing she is working with Miller, puts her back on the flight list.

On board the flight, Havens notices that there are only four or five other people present. She relaxes with a drink, and chats about her dream of someday driving to Cape Horn while Miller checks out the other passengers. She is charmed, and goes to the restroom to freshen up. While she is occupied, Miller is attacked by the remaining passengers and crew. Miller kills them all, including the pilots. After she emerges from the restroom Miller calmly informs her that everyone onboard is dead. Thinking that he is joking, Havens plays along until Miller enters the cockpit. In a spell of turbulence, she notices the dead bodies falling over in their seats, and spilling into the aisle. Miller lands the plane on a highway, but skids off the road into a corn field trying to avoid a semi-trailer Truck. Miller gives Havens a drink, and explains that she may be questioned by various officials. She is not to get in any vehicle with them, nor accompany them if they suggest taking her away to a "safe" place. Havens passes out due to a knock-out drug he gives her, but awakes at home amongst clues that Miller brought her there, ensuring her safety.

Havens struggles through the day trying on bridesmaid dresses for her sister, April's (Maggie Grace) wedding. Talking over what to do with their dad's GTO car Havens is shocked to learn that April wants to sell it. She is lured out of the shop and is accosted by a group seeming to be FBI special agents who, with assurances that she will be safe, drive her away. She is shown some files pertaining to Miller, and is questioned by the agents to determine if she is working with him. Suddenly, Miller shows up, and with much shooting and acrobatics, "rescues" Havens.

Havens doesn't know who or what to believe and flees to the firehall, where her former boyfriend, Rodney (Marc Blucas), works as a firefighter. Upon hearing her story he thinks she is merely stressed from the wedding, and takes her out for pie. While they are chatting, Miller arrives and kidnaps Havens. He handcuffs her and shoots Rodney in the leg, telling him this will all turn him into an overnight hero and virtually guarantee his desired promotion to lieutenant.

Miller explains that Havens is safer with him; and Havens agrees to follow him as they go to pick up Simon Feck (Paul Dano), a genius inventor who created a perpetual energy battery called the Zephyr. They arrive at a safe house in Brooklyn where he left Feck. He is missing, but has left clues that he can be found on a train in Austria. The two are immediately ambushed by men belonging to Antonio (Jordi Mollà), a Spanish arms dealer. After Miller again drugs Havens, she drifts in and out of consciousness between their capture and escape from Antonio's men. Miller brings her to an island that is off the grid, which he calls his home. After leaving Miller in frustration to wander the island, Havens notices a message on Miller's cell phone with a Boston address. While studying this, her cell phone rings, showing her sister's caller ID. In answering the phone, she accidentally leads Antonio's group to the hideaway. They try to kill Miller and Havens with a remote drone.

Again knocking out Havens, this time with a neck pinch, Miller transports them to a train heading through the Alps. Havens awakes alone and, missing a message from Miller, leaves to get breakfast in the dining car where she encounters Bernhard (Falk Hentschel), a German assassin whom she believes is Feck. When she finds the message stuck to the bottom of her shoe, she realizes that Feck is with Miller, and Bernhard is someone else. Using tricks learned from Miller, Havens manages to survive, and Bernhard is eventually knocked out of a window by Miller and killed by a train coming from the opposite direction.

Miller puts Havens and Feck up in a hotel in Salzburg, Austria, and heads to a meeting with a mysterious beautiful woman. Havens follows him, and hears him make a deal to sell the Zephyr to Antonio. Havens is picked up by the CIA and meets the director of counter-intel, who confirms that Miller is a rogue agent, and gives her a pen transmitter to signal them when she is with Miller and the Zephyr. Miller meets her back at the hotel, and shows her the Zephyr, which is now showing signs of overheating. Havens uses the pen to notify the agents, which Miller notes "hurts more than I thought it would," but Miller escapes to the roof-tops. After leading the CIA agents on a chase, Miller is apparently shot and falls into the Salzach River. His body is not recovered, nor is the Zephyr.

Havens is sent home by the agents in time to stand at her sister's wedding. When Havens hears the song that Miller used as his ring-tone, she heads to the address she remembered from his iPhone. She meets the people at the address, and realizes that they are Miller's parents. Havens learns that Miller's real name is Matthew Knight and the couple believe their son, a former Army Ranger Captain and Eagle Scout, is dead, and they are fabulously wealthy from winning lotteries and sweepstakes they don't remember entering. They mention that their son was an excellent swimmer who could hold his breath for an amazing length of time, which leads Havens to realize Miller is still alive.

Knight and Day is just a film movie to watch. It almost plays on a satire on these action films. You know what is going to happen and the guy always gets the girl. Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz have great chemistry. Both play their roles deadpan which even adds to how good the film is.

Knight and Day comes close to being that light charm for a action comedy. Only thing is it is relentless with it's action. I think it would have been even better if it focused more on the relationship between Cruise and Diaz instead of the action. But the action scenes were done rather well though.

Knight and Day is a nice film to watch on a rainy day. It is fun, action pack and even has something for the chick flick lover. But it is action packed enough for us guys.

Cyrus:*** and a half


Family Dramedies are rather hit or miss. Cyrus is all hits. Cryus is a film by Hollywood's new brother director duo Jake and Mark Duplass. They could be the next Coen brothers. Cyrus is very, very funny, yet has that dark and dramatic side to it.

The film opens as Jamie (Catherine Keener) walks in on her ex-husband John (John C. Reilly) as he is masturbating. She had come to his house to tell him that she is getting married. Even though they have been apart for seven years, the news still devastates John, who is already in a depression. Jamie insists that John accompany her to a party the following night and try to cheer up. At the party, John tries various conversational tactics with different women, failing to spark a connection each time. He gets progressively drunker until he ends up urinating in the bushes, where Molly (Marisa Tomei) compliments him on his penis and strikes up a conversation. Molly goes back to John's house and leaves during the night, after they have had sex.

Molly returns for a second date the next night, and once again, she leaves after they have had sex. John follows her to her house and falls asleep in his car. The next morning, he warily approaches the house, where he is surprised to meet Molly's son Cyrus (Jonah Hill). Cyrus invites John inside and makes friendly conversation with him. Molly is startled to see John in her house when she returns, but the trio have dinner together. John is slightly unnerved by evidence that Molly and Cyrus are closer than normal for a mother and son.

The next morning, John cannot find his shoes, which he had left in the living room. As the day wears on, he is increasingly disturbed by their disappearance and starts to worry that Cyrus has been messing with him the whole time. He ropes Jamie into meeting Molly and Cyrus, in order to appraise his paranoia. Jamie finds Cyrus sweet, if a little overly intimate with his mother. Relieved, John returns for another night at Molly's home. As they begin to have sex for the first time in her house, Cyrus screams in his room, and Molly runs to comfort him. She does not return to John, who goes out looking for her in the middle of the night. Instead, he encounters Cyrus who is holding a large kitchen knife. Cyrus explains that he had a night terror, and that Molly has gone to sleep. He then counsels John to back off on the relationship, because he is scaring off Molly. John leaves a note for her and returns home.

In the morning, Cyrus sits Molly down and tells her that John had confessed to him that she was coming on too strong. When she presses Cyrus for more information, he explodes in a tantrum and storms off, checking through the window to make sure he has upset his mother. Molly calls John and begs him to come over, while she waits for Cyrus to return. When Cyrus finally comes home, he explains that he has rented a room and will be moving out. After a few days alone together, John decides that he wants to move in with Molly.

After one date, they return home and begin to have sex, while Cyrus sits in the darkened kitchen. He surprises them both and explains that he has had another panic attack and wants to return home. In private, John finally confronts Cyrus about everything, and Cyrus admits that he has been deliberately sabotaging his mother's relationship. He moves back home, and John remains wary of him. The night before Jamie's wedding, he warns Cyrus not to screw up the day, because it means a lot to him. At the wedding, however, Cyrus is hurt when he sees how the event stirs romantic feelings between John and his mother. He confronts John in the bathroom and attacks him, yelling that John will not take his mother away from him. As John defends himself, the two spill out of the bathroom, into the view of the other guests. Cyrus makes it look like John attacked him. John advises Molly to open her eyes, then he storms off, furious at Cyrus.

Cyrus works because of it's writing. Nice jobs by the Duplass brothers too. They directed and wrote this. The acting is done well. John C. Reilly is excellent as John. He is a man who been broken. He is down in the dumps. He finally finds a woman, but there is something or rather something in the way like there always seems to be. Marisa Tomei is quietly nice as Molly. She is soft spoken, yet her point gets acrossed. She is a nice character in between the crazier characters. Jonah Hill as the title character is also excellent. He went from a nice guy, funny, to crazy, to sad and emotional with a click of an eye. Funny the next year he would be in Moneyball which got him his first academy award nomination for best supporting actor.

Cyrus's laughs are genuine. The dramatic moments come naturally. The flow feels just right. Nothing seems forced. It is a genuine family dramedy. And the ending is realistic. Do they get back together? I don't know. But they are going to work it out by the looks of it.

Trading Places:*** and a half


Whose ever idea it was to have two stars from Saturday Night Live star in a satire together is a genius. Trading Places is a classic satire with many, many laughs. It has been called the modern take on Mark Twain's classic the prince and the pauper.

Duke brothers Randolph (Ralph Bellamy) and Mortimer (Don Ameche) own Duke & Duke, a successful commodities brokerage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holding opposing views on the issue of nature versus nurture, they make a wager of the "usual amount" and agree to conduct an experiment switching the lives of two people at opposite sides of the social hierarchy and observing the results. They witness an encounter between their managing director—the well-mannered and educated Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd), engaged to the Dukes' grand-niece Penelope (Kristin Holby)—and a poor street hustler named Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy); Valentine is arrested at Winthorpe's insistence because of a suspected robbery attempt. The Dukes decide to use the two men for their experiment.

Winthorpe is publicly framed as a thief and drugs are planted on him when he is arrested. He is fired from his job, his bank accounts are frozen, and he is denied entry to the Duke-owned town-house where he resides. He befriends a prostitute named Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis) who allows him to stay at her apartment on the condition of receiving a reward once he re-establishes himself in society. Winthorpe soon finds himself ostracized and abandoned by Penelope and his former friends. Meanwhile, claiming to operate an assistance program for the underprivileged, the Dukes bail Valentine out of jail, install him in Winthorpe's position at the company and give him use of Winthorpe's home. Valentine quickly becomes well-versed in the business and acts well-mannered, even applying his street smarts to the job.

During the firm's Christmas party, Winthorpe is caught planting drugs in Valentine's desk in a desperate attempt to get his job back. After Winthorpe flees, Valentine hides in a bathroom stall to smoke a joint he took from the desk. The Dukes enter the bathroom and, unaware of Valentine's presence, discuss in detail the outcome of their experiment and settle their wager for $1. Valentine overhears this exchange and seeks out Winthorpe.

Winthorpe attempts suicide by overdosing on pills. Valentine, Ophelia and Winthorpe's former butler Coleman (Denholm Elliott) nurse him back to health and inform him of the Dukes' experiment. On television, they learn of a Clarence Beeks (Paul Gleason) transporting a secret report on orange crop forecasts. Winthorpe and Valentine recall large payments made to Beeks by Duke & Duke and realize that the Dukes are planning to obtain this report to corner the market on frozen orange juice. The group agrees to disrupt their plan as revenge.

Learning of Beeks' travel plans, the four get aboard his train to switch the report in Beeks' possession with a forgery. Beeks uncovers their scheme and attempts to kill them. He fails and is knocked unconscious by a gorilla, and the group dress him in a gorilla costume and lock him in a cage with a real gorilla. The forgery is then delivered to the Dukes. Valentine and Winthorpe subsequently travel to New York with Coleman and Ophelia's life savings to carry out their part of the scam.

Trading places is a rare satire. It is so funny that it doesn't seem preachy at all. The great thing here is it is wrote not in a way that they are playing for laughs. It is deadpan with a few eccentric moments. It works so very well. It is a good satire on social life back then. How social classes were and how some people still had racial hangups.

Trading Places reminds me of a lot of classic comedies. It develops these quirky, yet normal characters who are funny simply because of who they are. The character development is great to watch as the leads get placed into abnormal situations and act just as the other did in their territory. Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd are perfect for their roles. Each are able to act their different version of eccentric and are fun to watch operate. They play their characters with intelligence.

This is great comedy. The writing was spot on from start to finish. Nothing was out of place. The pair of Bellamy and Ameche in the roles of the Duke brothers was great. It was great casting on their parts. They played the Duke brothers perfectly. They are rich brothers who pretty much think they can do what they want to who they want to and get away with it. Because they have. It is simply great acting.

Trading Places surprised me when I watched. I have heard a little about it. Know I know it is one of Eddie Murphy's best film. It is funny from start to end and doesn't get sappy or even real dramatic. It is a great satire on social living.

About a Boy:*** and a half


About a Boy has that coming to age story feel. It is a coming to age story though. One for an actual teenage and one who is an adult who needs to grow up. Based of the novel of the same name by Nick Hornby (another novel of his was made into a film called High Fidelity) it is a nice film with simple goals and a simple subject.

Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) doesn't work. Yet he is rich. That is because his father made one hit song and he lives off those royalties. He spends his days pretty much just hanging out. He watches t.v, goes out to lunch, plays pool and occasionally picks up women. Honestly he lives the life a lot of guys wouldn't mind to live. He is a loner and only cares about himself. When Will's friends Christine (Sharon Small) and John (Nicholas Hutchinson), ask him to be the godfather of their second child, Will bluntly refuses, insisting that he "really is that shallow"

On the opposite end there is Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) a 12 year old boy the son of Fiona (Toni Collette) who is miserable. How do they meet? In an attempt to avoid spending time with the couple, Will meets Angie (Isabel Brook), a single mother, but the two only share a brief relationship which, to Will's surprise actually ends amicably. Afterward, Will comes up with the idea of attending a single-parents group called "SPAT" (Single Parents Alone Together) to meet potential female partners. As part of his ploy, he claims to have a two-year-old son named Ned. His plan succeeds and he meets Suzie (Victoria Smurfit)

Will's pursuit to court Suzie takes him to one of the group's functions — a picnic — where he meets Marcus. During a picnic Marcus accidentally kills a duck when he throws Suzie's loaf of bread into the water. Will helps him out when a police officer comes by. As they return to Marcus's home his mother Fiona is on the couch after an attempted suicide attempt. This gives Will a red flag and he doesn't want to see them again. But Marcus started to like Will. He doesn't want him mom to be sad and lonely, so he pays will a visit and tries to get him to date his mother so she won't be lonely. After the date fails, Marcus follows Will around and discovers that he actually has no child. He uses this to blackmail Will to hang out with him.

Will at first detests Marcus spending time with him. But as time goes on, he starts to like to kid. He learns about the kid. He sees that Marcus is a good guy, mature beyond his years. He starts to help Marcus fit in school and becomes somewhat of a fatherly figure to him. He even buys him shoes (that end up getting stolen). There comes the saying that you can learn something from kids. Marcus starts making Will a better person. More of an adult. He got lucky because of his dad, but his life has no meaning. He just does what he wants. And it is empty. Marcus brought him meaning.

About a Boy is such a resonate story because the characters like in High Fidelity feel like I could see them on the street. I relate to Will in a way. He has it pretty easy and only has to care about himself. He thinks all is good, but in reality he is missing out. He isn't fully grown. Marcus is a kid who is kind of alone because of his mother's issues. When these two meet, they both change each other for the better.

Hugh Grant's performance is brilliant. He should have been nominated for an academy award. He gave Will great character development, going from a selfish rich kid, to a caring man. Grant is a effortless actor. He simply becomes each role he plays. Ever see him in an interview? He talks the same way. This is rather hard to do. He grabs the screen and allows us to interested in the characters he plays. He is also a charismatic actor. He uses his character's boyish charms to his advantage and it works.

This is a film that only one real extra dramatic thing happens. And even that is an everyday situation (sadly). Otherwise it is comprised of everyday situation and works. More things happen in the film like Marcus developing a crush on a girl and Will having a girlfriend. The drama there is real life drama and is executed well.

About a Boy is a nice little British film with a worth while lesson. Sometimes as people we live on our own island. We enjoy it. It can be cool being alone and only having one person to care about. But we have to think about other people and care about them. It is a good thing. And people can change us.

I was also disappointed by this, and I agree with a majorly with what you said. Robert Downey's performance was definitely the best aspect

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Let's talk some jive.

Dolphin Tale:***


Animal stories usually always touch me. Free Willy and stuff like that. I like aquatic animals a lot too. Dolphin tale is based off a book that is based off true events. It is a truly inspiring story.

Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) is biking along the beach when a fisherman (Richard Libertini), calls for help after finding an injured bottlenose dolphin tangled in a crab trap. The two call for assistance, and rescue workers from the Clearwater Marine Hospital, run by Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.), take the injured dolphin for treatment. Clay's daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff) names the dolphin Winter, as two prior dolphins, Summer and Autumn, were successfully returned to the ocean, and believes that using seasons as names will continue the streak. She allows Sawyer to see Winter. Clay initially does not like the arrangement since Sawyer is not trained in marine animal care, but after noticing that Winter responds well whenever Sawyer is around, he is allowed to visit. Soon Sawyer, who was enrolled in summer school due to his failing or nearly failing all his classes during the year, starts skipping classes daily to visit Winter. Sawyer's mother Lorraine (Ashley Judd) finds out about Sawyer skipping classes, but after seeing that Sawyer's interaction with Winter has improved his moods and well-being, something Sawyer had not shown since being abandoned by his father who disappeared five years earlier, she withdraws him from summer school and allows him to volunteer at the hospital.

Unfortunately, Winter's tail is damaged and thus must be amputated. Winter learns to swim without a tail by developing a side-to-side motion, like a fish, but after an x-ray Clay notices that the unnatural motion is causing stress on her spine; if continued the motion will eventually kill her. Meanwhile, Sawyer's cousin Kyle, a champion swimmer, returns from the military with a damaged right leg from an explosion. Sawyer wants Kyle to meet Winter and excitedly anticipates seeing him at a welcome-back party thrown by his aunt, but is devastated to learn that Kyle has skipped the party, preferring to stay at the local Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Sawyer and Lorraine go to visit Kyle who is working with Dr. Cameron McCarthy (Morgan Freeman) in the facility's prosthetics lab. To Sawyer's surprise, Kyle is embarrassed to see them and even asks them to leave, which infuriates Sawyer. Kyle takes him on a walk and talks to Sawyer about his leg. Sawyer then asks Dr. McCarthy about a prosthetic tail for Winter. He agrees to work on the project during his upcoming vacation, and convinces his prosthetic supplier (Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics, which supplies Winter's real-life tails) to supply the parts at no cost. Dr. McCarthy manufactures a "homemade" model tail while waiting for the real one to arrive; however, Winter destroys it by banging it against the pool wall.

Shortly thereafter the hospital, already in financial peril, is seriously damaged by Hurricane LeRoy, whereupon the board of directors agree to close the hospital, sell the land to a real estate developer, and find homes for the animals, except Winter, who due to her condition is not wanted by anyone and may have to be euthanized. However, after a chance encounter with a mother and daughter (who also had a prosthetic limb) who heard about Winter's story and drove all the way from Atlanta to see her, Sawyer comes up with a last chance plan ("Save Winter Day") to save the facility. Clay is not sold on the idea, but reconsiders after talking with his father, Reed (Kris Kristofferson). Kyle agrees to a race against Donovan Peck, the current local swim champion who followed him at high school and broke nearly all his prior swim records, and enlists a female friend at Bay News 9 to promote the event.

Dolphin Tale is like movies of old. I had no idea they made movies like this anymore. It is a nice family film. Dolphins are rather remarkable creatures. They are smart and understand humans very well. And they are fighters. This was a great story to bring to the screen. Winter is a disabled dolphin that gave up to disabled kids who saw them. It is truly amazing what animals can do when given a fighting chance.

In a way this movie reminded me of Field of Dreams with how people came to see Winter. But then it started to remind me of Seabiscuit. Both were animals who had injuries that should have gotten them put down. But both fought back and were as good as ever. This is a good movie for kids to watch. It has actual purpose and meaning and can teach them something valuable. Sawyer fell in love with Winter and wanted to help her and keep her home. It is amazing what an inspired kid can do. It is also of course like Free Willy. The boy learns and grows because of the sea mammal. It is touching.

Dolphin Tale is a nice inspiring story about a dolphin who never gave up because a kid around her never would. It is nice to sit and watch movies like this. Something the whole family can enjoy. The actual scenes of Winter getting saved rehabilitated at the very end are so sad but nice to watch.

Scream:***


Scary movies have become so predictable. Same storylines, same dumb bimbos. Same endings. And they are not scary. Scream is a satire of scary movies. It doesn't have a bimbo girl for a lead, and it doesn't try to be scary. But there is a ton of blood.

High school student Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) receives a flirtatious phone call from an unknown person (voiced by Roger L. Jackson), asking her, "What's your favorite scary movie?" The situation quickly escalates out of control as the caller turns sadistic and threatens her life. He reveals that her boyfriend Steve (Kevin Patrick Walls) is being held hostage. After failing to answer a question correctly about horror films, Steve is murdered. When Casey refuses to cooperate with the caller, she is attacked and murdered by a masked killer, and her body is hung from a tree.

The following day, the news media descend on the town and a police investigation begins. Meanwhile, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) struggles with the impending one-year anniversary of her mother's murder by Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber). While waiting at home for her friend Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), Sidney receives a threatening phone call. After she hangs up, she is attacked by the killer. Sidney's boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) arrives and offers support, but after he drops his cell phone Sidney suspects him of making the call. She flees. Billy is arrested and Tatum takes Sidney to her house.

Billy is released the next day. Suspicion has shifted to Sidney's father Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht), as the calls have been traced to his phone. School is suspended in the wake of the murders. After the students have left the school, Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler) is stabbed to death in his office. Billy's friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) throws a party to celebrate the school closure. The party is attended by Sidney, Tatum, their friend Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), and several other students. Reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) attends uninvited to cover the situation, as she expects the killer to strike. Tatum is killed during the party after having her neck crushed by a garage door. Billy arrives to speak to Sidney privately, and the two ultimately consummate their relationship. Deputy sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale investigate a nearby abandoned car. Many party attendees are drawn away after hearing news of Himbry's death; Randy, Sidney, Billy, Stu, and Gale's cameraman Kenny (W. Earl Brown) remain.

After having sex, Sidney and Billy are attacked by the killer, who seemingly murders Billy. Sidney escapes the killer and seeks help from Kenny, but he gets his throat slit by the killer. Sidney again flees. Gale and Dewey, having discovered the car belongs to Neil Prescott, return to the house. They believe Neil is the killer and has come to the party to continue his spree. Gale attempts to leave the scene in her van but drives off-road and crashes to avoid hitting Sidney. Meanwhile, Dewey is stabbed in the back while investigating in the house. Sidney takes Dewey's gun. Stu and Randy appear and accuse each other of being the killer. Sidney retreats into the house, where she finds Billy, wounded but still alive. She gives Billy the gun; he lets Randy into the house and then shoots him. Billy has feigned his injuries and is actually the killer; Stu is his accomplice.

Scream makes fun of years and years of scary movies. Even a movie that Wes Craven the director of Scream directed (Nightmare on Elm Street the one with Jamie Lee Curtis) it exploits everything. I enjoy how a lot of the characters are in on the joke. How they know what is going on. But it meant to defuse how much violence there is? Or is it just there? They use the satire, yet keep the same amount of gore found in a normal scary movie.

I like the Sidney Prescott character. They made her not to be the norm of the female leads. She is beautiful of course. But she is smart. She doesn't do the normal shtick. And the romance between Dewey and Gale is cool to watch. This is how now ex husband and wife David Arquette and Courtney Cox met. Their real life chemistry is evident. It adds a lot to the film.

Scream is a pretty smart film. A lot of violence. It isn't your typical scary movie that you would watch on Halloween. It doesn't attempt to scare you. It attempts to be a little more comedic and still gory. It is perfect for people who kind of go against Halloween and scary movies. And if you are a scary movie fan, you'll still like it too.

Cedar Rapids:***

Ah the town of Cedar Rapids. Beautiful and quiet. You would think that what this film is about. No it is a about a few dirty, funny people all coming in for a Insurance convention. Did I mention funny? It is about Tim Lippe (Ed Helms). He is a naive and idealistic insurance agent. He has stuck to his small town roots and has experience much outside of it.

At the beginning, he is shown welcoming a former teacher into his home, addressing her as Mrs. Vanderhei (Sigourney Weaver), and promptly having sex with her. Afterwards, he reminisces about his experiences as her student. In his position as an insurance agent, he is sent to represent his company (Brownstar Insurance) at a regional conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Lippe is sent as a replacement for his co-worker, Roger Lemke (Thomas Lennon), who dies in an auto-erotic asphyxiation accident. Tim idolized Roger, believing that his death was merely an unfortunate accident, and that he embodied all it was to be decent, honest, caring to the community and most importantly Christian, as these are the key criteria used to judge the winner of the coveted "Two Diamonds" award, which Roger had won 2 years in a row. Tim is under pressure from his boss, Bill, to ensure they win again and keep the small company afloat.

Lippe meets fellow insurance agents Ronald Wilkes, Dean Ziegler and Joan Ostrowski-Fox, or "Ronimal", "Dean-Z" and "O-Fox" respectively. He also meets Bree, a prostitute who works the parking lot in front of the hotel. She affectionately calls him "Butterscotch" after he offers her a piece of butterscotch candy. Initially wary of almost everyone at the conference, he spends more time with Ron, Dean and Joan, and starts to develop genuine friendships and even a crush on Joan. All the insurance agents participate in a Scavenger Hunt, with Tim being paired with Joan, and although no one manages to complete the final task, they come farthest and thus win the contest and a gift card to a local restaurant. Tim, Joan and Dean become rather intoxicated through the night and end up in the hotel swimming pool, Tim and Joan's sexual tension builds to a head and, after making out in the pool, they make love (later, in Joan's hotel room). Regrettably, they were all seen in the pool by ASMI president Orin Helgesson.

The next morning, Tim is guilt-ridden and calls his older girl friend (and ex-teacher) Macy to confess, before desperately asking her to marry him, she takes this opportunity to explain that as a recently divorced woman she just wants to have fun, so she too has been sleeping with other people and tells him that perhaps "it's time for him to fly away from the nest and start a new life". Tim returns to Joan, who attempts to comfort him by telling him what Roger Lemke (the man he idolizes) was really like: that she was his lover but left him after his sexual appetites became a bit too twisted for her, and that he bribed Helgesson for each one of his Two Diamond awards. Tim refuses to believe this, and flees Joan's room, accusing her of being a "prostitute" sent to destroy his life.

He runs into Dean and accidentally lets it slip that Lemke had bought all of his Two Diamonds. Dean swears to not tell anyone, it becoming apparent that he already sees Tim as a true friend. After some words of advice from Dean, Tim goes to Helgesson for his assessment: it does not go well, and under the pressure he ends up also bribing Helgesson for the award, leaving him penniless and ashamed. He later comes across Bree and accompanies her to a party, which ends up with Tim getting high on crystal methamphetamine and inadvertently starting a fight. Ron, Joan and Dean show up just in time to rescue him, as well as Bree who claims she is in love with Tim. The night ends with Bill appearing at Tim's door to inform him that with the successful acquisition of another Two Diamond award, he has received a generous offer for the company and despite it meaning the branch's closure, he has chosen to sell. The day of the Diamond awards comes and while Bill is formally announcing the sale, Tim bursts in and takes over the podium; this when he reveals that his company has unethically acquired the award every year by bribing Helgesson and confesses to doing so himself. Helgesson flees the room, his reputation in tatters. A furious Bill confronts Tim, his revelations having cost Bill the sale of his company. Tim responds by announcing his intentions to leave the company and start another with his clients from Brownstar, 17 of which have agreed to stay with him. Bill storms off, dumbfounded.

Cedar Rapids is filled with raunchy comedy. Yet it has a endearing sweetness to it. It is so funny to watch. But we understand and relate to Tim. He is a nice guy, finally getting out of his shell. And he experiences things that he was never close to before. He is a good guy, but gets swept up into corrupt things. He doesn't want to do it. But he just wants everything to turn out right. You watch Tim and you just hope things turn out good for him.

The encounter between Tim and Bree is fun to watch. Bree is a character that I wish was explored more. Alia Shawkat is a naturally attractive woman. She is playing perhaps the best looking prostitute that I have ever seen. She is young and just trying to get out there. When she sees Tim she sees a nice guy. The scenes where she was basically drugging him up are my favorite. And the whole I love you thing was hilarious. I just wish that wasn't how things ended. But it still worked.

John C. Reilly as Dean is great. He is probably the most funny character in the movie. Each scene he is in you wait to see when he is going to do something insane. It was a great portrayal of a wildcard. The writing was well done, giving a good look at Tim and adding a good amount of raunch to it.

Cedar Rapids is funny, dirty, yet sweet. It is something that we don't think of Insurance companies for sure. One last thing, I really liked how Ed Helms transitioned from high to sobriety. I haven't seen a transition like that.

Phone Booth:***

I remember hearing about phone booth ten years ago. It wouldn't get released because of the sniper attacks in my area. Now after all those years I can watch a movie that got delayed because of the events that happened. Phone Booth is a smart and suspenseful psychological thriller. It is the standard time for a film. But from a certain point it is intense all the way to the end. Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) is a publicist in New York. He is arrogant, cocky and selfish. He has been having affair with another woman named Pam (Katie Holmes). Though they haven't had sex yet. He is married to a woman named Kelly (Radha Mitchell) and they have been growing distant.

After calling Pam in a phone booth (that is how he has his affair since Kelly checks his cell phone bill) and blowing off a guy offering him a free pizza, the phone rings. He picks it up and there is a creepy caller on the other end (Keifer Sutherland). He instructs Stu not to leave the phone booth. He says he will say hello to Kelly for him which indicates Stu that he is in real trouble.

The caller tells Stu that he has tested two previous individuals who have done wrong deeds in a similar manner (one was a pedophile, another was a company insider who cashed out his stock options before the share price collapsed), giving them a chance to reveal the truth to those they wronged, but in both cases, neither agreed and were killed. To demonstrate the threat, the caller fires at a nearby toy from a vendor with a silenced sniper rifle, the damage unseen by anyone but Stu and the caller himself. The caller demands that Stu tell the truth of his infidelity to both Kelly and Pam to avoid being killed. The caller contacts Pam, and puts her on line with Stu, who reveals that he is married. The caller then hangs up, telling Stu to call Kelly himself.

As Stu hesitates, the booth is approached by three prostitutes demanding to use the phone. Stu refuses to leave, having been warned by the caller not to make a public disturbance. Leon (John Enos III), the pimp for the prostitutes, joins his charges, and starts to smash the side of the booth. The caller offers Stu to kill Leon for him, to which Stu agrees. Leon is shot and killed, causing a panic in the streets. Soon, police and newscrews have arrived to cover the story.
Captain Ramey (Forest Whitaker) outside the booth negotiating with Stu (Colin Farrell).
The Caller (Kiefer Sutherland) after having talked to Stu in the ambulance.

Police Captain Ed Ramey (Forest Whitaker), already suspecting Stu of being the killer, corners the streets with police roadblocks and he starts trying to negotiate with him to leave the booth, but Stu rejects, telling the caller that there is no way they can incriminate him; the caller proves him wrong, pointing to a handgun that was planted in the roof of the phone booth. Both Kelly and Pam soon arrive on the scene. The caller demands Stu tell the truth to Kelly, which he does. Stu is then told by the caller that he must choose between Kelly or Pam, and that if he chooses one person, the other is going to be killed.

Phone Booth has so much suspense and is just the start. It shows a man who isn't different from people in the world. A cocky person who basically cheats on his wife (or wants to). In this situation he has someone call him out in a deadly matter. Stu isn't a terrible person. Just kind of a bad person who needs to be steered in the right direction. In his own crazy way the caller/sniper sets him straight. But of course he causes chaos.

This movie is on Colin Farrell's shoulders. His performance is what drives the film. He has the energy and intensity that works perfectly with this film. He slowly and slowly loses implodes as the situation escalates. With each crazy thing the caller says, Farrell starts to lose it a bit more. The character development shown is also done well. He takes Stu from a guy who didn't realize nor cared how he was hurting other people, to a person who was reduced to tears while pouring his guts out on national t.v

Phone Booth is a cool movie to watch. After I was over I somewhat understood why they held off on the release date. Still it is entertaining to watch because you don't know what will happen next and there is a little surprise waiting at every turn.

Small Time Crooks:***


Woody Allen is always coming up with new and wonderful ideas for his movies. Some amazing (Annie Hall) but the majority are pretty good. Small Time Crooks falls into that category. Not amazing Woody Allen, but pretty good Woody Allen.

Ray (Woody Allen) and his friends want to lease an old restaurant so they can tunnel from the basement of the restaurant to a nearby bank. Frenchy (Tracey Ullman) covers what they are doing by selling cookies from the restaurant. The bank robbery scheme is a miserable failure, but after they franchise the business, selling cookies makes them millionaires.

In the film's second act, Frenchy throws a big party and overhears people making fun of their decorating taste and lack of culture. She asks a man named David (Hugh Grant) to train her and Ray so they can fit in with the American upper class. Ray hates every minute of it, but Frenchy likes their new culture.

What Ray and Frenchy don't know is that David is really just using Frenchy to get money for art projects he wants to do. Ray finally gets fed up and leaves Frenchy. David and Frenchy go to Europe for more cultural enlightenment and while there, she gets a call and finds out she's been defrauded by her accountants. She's lost everything including her cookie company, home, and possessions. David immediately dumps her.

Small Time Crooks has that normal Woody Allen formula. And it sticks to that formula the whole entire film. The characters are the normal New Yorkers that he uses, with the exception of Grant's obviously. It has a modest plot and and things happen kind of swiftly. To me it shows an example of how two average Americans (one happens to be a crook) react to becoming rich. It is a transition for sure when you start making money and enter a higher class. It is interesting to watch Allen and Ullman showcase it.

Allen and Ullman made an unlikely but good couple. Allen as the neurotic one as usual, and Ullman as a bit more confident yet still crazy. They had rather good chemistry. The character May was the funniest character. She is saying the wrong things at the wrong time perfectly. How she carried herself was funny to watch. Nice person, just a bit off by the looks of it. Hugh Grant's performance was also good. He wasn't in the movie for too long, but he had a strong presence each time he was on stage.

This isn't one of Woody's best films. But it is a solid. It is funny and charming. It is entertaining. And that is what Woody is all about. Putting on a show.

Shakespeare in Love:


William Shakespeare is a legend obviously. I had to read it in high school. Romeo and Juliet in ninth grade, Caesar in tenth grade, Macbeth in 11th grade, and Hamlet in 12th grade. I had to read a Midsummers night dream in middle school too. All classics. Though the English was annoying to have read. Shakespeare in Love isn't one of his plays. But a fictional story of the man himself.

William Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is a poor playwright for Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush), owner of The Rose Theatre, in 1593 London. After learning that his love was cheating on him with his patron, Shakespeare burns his new comedy, Romeo and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter, rewriting it as the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Suffering from writer's block, he is unable to complete the play, but begins auditions for Romeo. A young man named Thomas Kent is cast in the role after impressing Shakespeare with his performance and his love of Shakespeare's previous work. Kent is actually Viola de Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow), the daughter of a wealthy merchant who desires to act but, since women are banned from the stage, she must disguise herself.

After Shakespeare discovers his star's true identity, he and Viola begin a passionate secret affair. Inspired by her, Shakespeare writes quickly, and benefits from the advice of playwright and friendly rival Christopher 'Kit' Marlowe (Rupert Everett). Shakespeare and Viola know, however, that their romance is doomed. He is married, albeit long separated from his wife, while Viola's parents have arranged her betrothal to Lord Wessex (Colin Firth), an aristocrat who needs money. When Viola is summoned to the court of Queen Elizabeth I (Judi Dench), Shakespeare dons a woman's disguise to accompany her as her cousin. At court, he persuades Wessex to bet £50 that a play cannot capture the nature of true love. If Romeo and Juliet is a success, Shakespeare as playwright will win the money. The Queen, who enjoys Shakespeare's plays, agrees to witness the wager.

Edmund Tilney (Simon Callow), the Master of the Revels, the Queen's official in charge of the theatres, learns that there is a woman in the theatre company at The Rose playhouse, and orders the theatre closed for violating morality and the law. Left without a stage or lead actor, it seems that Romeo and Juliet must close before it even opens, until Richard Burbage (Martin Clunes), the owner of a competing theatre, the Curtain, offers his stage to Shakespeare. Shakespeare assumes the lead role of Romeo, with a boy actor (Daniel Brocklebank), playing Juliet. Viola learns that the play will be performed on her wedding day, and after the ceremony secretly travels to the theatre. Shortly before the play begins, the boy playing Juliet starts experiencing the voice change of puberty. Viola replaces him and plays Juliet to Shakespeare's Romeo. Their passionate portrayal of two lovers inspires the entire audience.

Tilney arrives at the theatre with Wessex, who has deduced his new bride's location. Tilney plans to arrest the audience and cast for indecency, but the Queen is in attendance. Although she recognizes Viola, the Queen does not unmask her, instead declaring that the role of Juliet is being performed by Thomas Kent. However, even a queen is powerless to end a lawful marriage, so she orders "Kent" to fetch Viola so that she may sail with Wessex to the Colony of Virginia. The Queen also states that Romeo and Juliet has accurately portrayed true love so Wessex must pay Shakespeare £50, the exact amount Shakespeare requires to buy a share in the Lord Chamberlain's Men. The Queen then directs "Kent" to tell Shakespeare to write something "a little more cheerful next time, for Twelfth Night".

Shakespeare in Love is something else. I remember in 11th grade honors English my teacher was talking about this movie and showed an interview with the actors involved. I didn't know if I wanted to watch this film or not. I have seen Shakespeare movies before. But something about him, fictional? And a romantic comedy? It won best picture over Saving Private Ryan so I figured it would be damn good. I wasn't disappointed. It is a great. It exceeded all my expectations. It is so interesting to watch that I could never take my eyes off of it.

The contemporary humor in this movie (like Shakespeare's coffee mug, inscribed "Souvenir of Stratford-Upon-Avon") makes it a mix between a Mel Brooks film and something that you would see on masterpiece theater. Added with the juicy love story, the backstage politics, the natural intrigue of the story, and some great moments when they were performing Romeo Juliet and it is something just really original and really good.

What is Shakespeare in Love? What is it though? It could be many different things. I don't know. And I don't care. The wit, the smart writing, the energy and sweetness of this film was enough for me.