Movie Reviews:

Doing things a little different this time! I've seen a few movies but just haven't had the time (or energy) to post up my reviews. So I'm just going to do them all at once very briefly. Here you go!:



Talladega Nights

1/5

Will Ferril is getting old. I'm sorry. I mean I'm going to keep enjoying his humor but I'm not as excited about it as I used to be. I have not heard of one person that actually liked this movie, so that gives me hope. But there's no wonder! It's plot was incredibly weak, predictable, unintelligent and just plain ridiculous. And they focused more on the plot then the actual humor, which I'm pretty sure was the ONLY reason why anyone was interested in the movie anyway, am I right? You didn't go into the auditorium thinking, "Hmm I wonder what kind of morals I could learn in this one..." No, you were thinking, "Haha what will Will Ferril do next?!" Please, people.
Lines like "shake and bake" and "I wanna go fast" got very annoying, very quick. The crude kids were PAINFULLY not funny. (UGH I very much dislike child actors!) And most of all, I just plain didn't care what happened to the characters in the story. There's nothing worse then feeling DUMB after you've just watched a movie, seriously. I give it minor points because (A) it had some good tunes and (B) I can remember a few parts where I laughed a bit so I can't really sit here and say it was a complete dud. But, I'll never see this again. And everytime somebody mentions it my involuntary groans and scoffs will continue.




Miami Vice

1/5

BORING! Oh my gosh I was so bored watching this film. And you know what? I'm pissed. I'm totally pissed because I was very much looking forward to this one. I was anticipating SO much more than what we got. I was ready for some ACTION, you know? For some hot guys running around in Armani suits and babes shooting guns in miniskirts. What the crap?! Nothing. Phbbt. An explosion at some trailor house, a cheap little shoot-out toward the end where NObody dies, and the cheesiest, fakest, stupidest, crappiest, pukiest "love" story I have ever seen. For the love of all that is glorious and shiny, give me a stinkin' break. Don't even get me started on the two main characters... shoot I've already started... Ok these guys had NO personalities, showed NO acting talent, and had NO connection with eachother! Are these people PARTNERS? It's Sonny and Tubbs guys!!!! Show some respect, huh? Show some attempt, jeez. I apologize, I'm upset. If you must watch this just... prepare to be disappointed that's for sure. Why I give it a 1 and not a 0? Well... you should've seen the car selection...mmhmm.




Night Listener

3/5

Ok here we go this one was a heck of a lot better than the previous two flicks, but that's not saying a whole lot because the others CRAPPED. Anyway, with the Night Listener we've got some creativity flowing. You actually had to THINK your way through the movie, kept you guessing. I like those kinds of films for sure. It really did spook me in a few parts and I just couldn't seem to predict what was going to happen. That's enough kudos for a mystery movie don't you think? And Toni Collette was absolutely amazing. She played a ca-REEPY chick and played it well. Robin Williams is not so bad. I believed him as his character, and that was a good achievement. I'll always love Mr. Williams because he's played in a couple of my most favorite childhood movies (Hook and Mrs. Doubtfire), but I don't think he's superb or anything, but he does his job.
The only real critique I have for this film was that it was a liiiiitle bland. When the movie ended, it... hadn't really GONE anywhere. There was no... bang. No real resolution. Through the film the plot would thicken and thicken and it would build you up and up but then like I said, go nowhere. Disappointing, but refreshing to see some intelligence in a movie again after the last two... sheesh people.




Illusionist

4/5

Unexpectedly well done. That's how I describe this movie. I was very skeptical at the beginning of this film. As you have learned I don't necessarily enjoy the acting skills of children, and that's kind of what we got for the first twenty minutes. Plus there was all this magic, fantasy crap going on and quite frankily that's just not my thing. However, once I let my mind open up, I really began to enjoy the essence of what this movie had to offer. The plot was well thought out, for me personally was unpredictable which is good, and had a very sweet and thoughtful ending that made you go, "awwww...!" An all around satisfying piece.
As far as acting? I must praise Edward Norton. He exuded chivalrous masculinity. Is that even correct phrasing? I don't know and I don't care because that's what I think of when I try to desribe what he portrayed in his character. Very well done. And who doesn't love Paul Giamatti? You just kind of KNOW he'll do his job and put in a good effort. I confidently recommend this movie to anyone. Especially if you are sick of seeing unintelligent, unnecessary, boring films that seem to be taking over the box office these days. Careful though, the Illusionist isn't perfect, but is definitely... refreshing. :-)




Invincible

2/5

Bummer. Well another film I was somewhat disappointed in. There's really not much to say about this one. It was entertaining... but not enough. I'm not quite sure what it is exactly. Yes, it was heartfelt. There was definitely inspiration in the story. I just... thought there was going to be more. More... FOOTBALL. More... speeches. More... conflict. It just rode the surface on the satisfactory line that's all. JUST makes it past the "waste of time" mark, you know? Not bad, but not good either. Good tunes of course, I'll be sure to check out the soundtrack on ITunes. And Mark Wahlberg... phew I used to have SUCH a crush on him. First when Fear came out, then Planet of the Apes. Both ridiculous movies... but so were his muscles. There, I freaking said it! Ridiculously HOT muscles. Gosh darnit.

Hello again!


Ok, I JUST got back from visiting my Aunt in Oregon for two whole weeks! I got to play with my little cousins and eat large amounts of food, so now my Summer feels complete I think. Hehe! The VERY first thing we did on our vacation was visit the Coast. Man it was so good to be there again. It was a bit chilly of course, it wouldn't BE the Oregon Coast if it wasn't. Nevertheless we were still able to dip our toes in the ocean water and get chased by it's waves. To this day that's still one of my most favorite games. :-)





I also went with my parents to take a look at Western Oregon University's campus. I've been wanting to go there for their Education Program for years and I was finally able to visit it last week! Very cool I might say, the drive there was gorgeous. (I managed to take a somewhat decent picture with my cellphone and attach it here so you all can see!) However whether or not I actually attend that school is undecided. See, when I first got the idea of going to WOU I was living in Oregon. Now, four years later I'm about eight states away soooo... things may change. Do I stick with my goal and keep striving for WO? Or do I face change, attend a school here and allow a different path? Hmm.... yea, I'll get back to you on that.





Loads more of fun stuff while I was away: Tea Party, swimming and soccer lessons, Saturday Market, Luigi sandwiches, board games, rocking babies to sleep, animal planet, scrubs, raquet ball, movie watchin', and guitar hero. I would have to say my most fondest memories these days are my nights with Girlie. I sleep in her room and that girl never falls asleep before me. It's just yackety-yack about dragons and videogames until I finally say, "Uh huh, ok honey I'm going to dreamland now... see you in the morning...". Hahah nah we have a great time. We giggle and laugh for an hour or so. I tell her "Crazy Customer" stories or on some nights I'll try and rack up a Spyro Story for her. I love it.






Sigh, I get so sad when I have to part with my sweet cousins. I always thought the good-byes would get easier over time but I'm telling you it's just the opposite. It gets harder and harder. Everytime we've left their house it's been early in the morning to catch our plane. I usually have a ritual with my Girlie. I would wake her up with kisses and hug her good-bye. But this time I couldn't seem to do it. I didn't want to hear her tell me good-bye, so I let her sleep this time and just whispered it in her ear. Hope you forgive me Girlie! :-* Thankfully I was able to see my Aunt before we left. I'm missing you guys so much and I'll be looking forward to our next visit which hopefully won't be too far from now. :-)





Phew! Well, two weeks is a LONG time to be away. Time to get back to my routine again. Lots of mail had to be opened and kittys needed to be loved. Oh! And I'm being SO smart this time. As soon as I unpacked I started my laundry. Oh my gosh it feels so good knowing I'm getting that done. I have work tomorrow and I just don't see where I would have been able to fit it in before school starts on Monday. I'm FINALLY on my last load, (whites. I hate folding socks, always takes forever) but it's taken awhile to get finished up. That's why I'm blogging and stuff right now so I can stay awake. I've also been listening to music. Almost tripped on one of my cats dancing to Footloose. And I'm on my sixth or seventh round listening to Madonna's Vogue. I can't stand the woman but that song is righteous.


Alrighty well, I think I've pretty much covered everything. I've definitely missed my fella. It was such a challege being away for so long, but that's over with and we're getting together for breakfast tomorrow morning! Pretty early though too so... I may want to think about getting myself ready for bed. I'm actually very excited. I love my bed. Maybe I'll even put in a movie too! Something like... Braveheart! My goodness I do love that movie. I've watched this movie about eighty times and I still love it just as much as I did when I first watched it. Watch the trailor. It's SO awesome: Braveheart

Favorite Lines:

• "Your heart is free, have the courage to follow it."

• "You know what it means to hate. Now you're ready to be King."

" ... My hate will die with you."

• "I have come to beg the life of William Wallace."

"You're quite taken by this man aren't you?"

• "They killed her to get to me. I've never spoken of it, I don't know why I tell you now, except... I see her strength in you."

• "Who is this person that speaks to me as though I needed his advice?"

• "What does that mean to be noble? Your title gives you claim to the throne of our country, but men don't follow titles, they follow courage."

• "Now... let this scrapper come to me."

• "Parce que chaque jour j'ai pense a toi..."

Heehee goodnight you all!


Love,
Steph

REVIEW: Lady In The Water

Director: M. Night Shyamalan


Starring: Paul Giamatti... the only person worth mentioning.


Trailor: Lady


Plot: Don't even ask.


Critique:

Ok fine I'll admit it. It was MY idea to see this movie. I drug my date into it. I feel very ashamed, yes. Why oh why, you ask? I was curious. I wanted to see if it was possible that Shyamalan would be able to create yet another piece of crap and actually have the nerve to call it a "film" and not what it REALLY is... an expensive pile of puke. HAH! There you go that's what I thought of this film. There were at least two "What the hell"s and seven, "huh?"s in the auditorium after the movie ended. Was ANYBODY impressed with this movie? Did anybody (besides the old lady in the back that kept going "ohhhh!") recieve ANY entertainment from it's plot? I want to know who you are because I've heard of a great place where you can have group discussions. Yeah, in the mental institution.


Look, here's the deal. It seems that Night has become just a BIT big-headed. Phbbt... he's thinking he's got to be the only one left with all the creativity and originiality anymore. And since he's recieved all this fame from The Sixth Sense, it's like he thinks he can get away with anything. You know whats sad? He IS getting away with it. I mean I'll admit it, I love Sixth Sense. And DON'T tell me you "knew the twist all along" because we all know you're lying. Anyway, I give him a lot of credit for that, thus I have been giving in to his other movies. So, in my opinion, he DOES have talent. But you know what? It only goes so far. What I mean is, Night will think up a pretty cool, pretty radical idea. Then when he decides to make it into a movie, he'll stretch it, overexaggerate and manipulate it until it's just one big mess. I call it a "puke idea". He pukes his idea out, and people are left confused and feeling dumber than when they first came in. It's a bummer really.


I'm not going to sit here though and bash him and say that he should stop making movies. But I do want to ask that he stops making them into such huge deals. You're not the ONLY director in the world, Shyamalan.


Alright, on to the movie itself. There's really not much I WANT to say about it. It's a fantasy tale about a Lady from the "blue world" that came to an apartment complex because she needed to tell someone something very important, right? But theres a dog made out of grass that wants to eat her up and keep her from getting back to her land. So she gets help from the man who found her, Cleveland Heap (Giamatti), the superintendant of the building. And he rounds people up that fit certain "special" roles such as the Gaurdian, the Healer, the Geographer or whatever, then a great big eagle will come swoop in and take her away. Yay. Got all of that? Can anybody say, nutcase? I tell ya, it was comical to watch the story unravel and not in the good way.


The way Night opened the movie was horrible. He told us the story of the "blue water people" through cartoon animations drawn in chalk. Yeah. I think I chuckled aloud during that scene. I don't even remember anything that was said.


But then Paul Giamatti comes in and I have to tell you, I love this man. HE is talented. He's a great actor and really knows how to engage into his characters. I'm sure others will agree on this one but he was definitley the ONE thing that kept this movie going. All the other actors/actresses were inexperienced and average and I just don't have to care or energy to talk about them. But Giamatti, he really set the tone for the movie. Very serious. But thank God for his humor.


This movie did attempt to be funny. I did do a "haha" in a few parts. But still not enough to make the movie good. The character who only worked out on one side of his body was a neat idea. And I did think Giamatti was cute trying to act as a child to be told the fairytale. But other things like the Korean teenager? Please. Not only was she not funny, she was just plain annoying. And that group of smokers? Nice try. Who are you trying to entertain here Night? Twelve year olds?


There were many characters in this movie... and I don't care about any of them. Thanks for the excellent work of character development there Shyamalan.


Sigh... please don't see this movie unless you really feel like you have to. But if you want to see a really cool movie about a Lady from a "blue land", save yourself the exhaustion of watching yet ANOTHER bad movie, and just watch the Little Mermaid. (heehee!)


Creative? Sure. Original? Why not. But insane and a waste of time? Most definitley.

Rating: 1/5

Bonjour mes amies!


You know that feeling you get when you miss the new episode of your favorite show? That's how I feel about not blogging for so long! Sorry blogspot. I've been cheating on you with someone else. :-* heehee I've missed you. Hey, I've got TWO movies to review! ugh... two crappy ones though, and that only means they will be SHORT and will include many "give me a breaks". sheesh...


So I've just been in Florida. We stayed in Orlando at a very nice hotel right across from Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. My dad needed to go there for a business trip and took my mom and I along with him. I felt so bad... poor man was stuck in meetings all the time.


But... that didn't really stop my mom and I from having the time of our lives! hahah Everyday we had something planned. On our second day, we hit a very radical water park. Now, I hadn't been to one of these since maybe seventh grade, so I wasn't quite sure what I would be doing. I mean... water parks are generally for kids I guess so I was just kind of planning on soaking in the sun. But holy moly as we walked into the arena and witnessed all the slide glory I was overcome with excitement. I didn't even THINK about my slight case of claustrophobia. And really it IS slight. It's not even an issue really but... ok shoving myself down a 300 foot tube of BLACKNESS may do the trick. Oh my god I can't remember what they called the slide exactly. Somthing like, "the cage" I don't know. Hah, yea the freaking cage of DEATH! I SERIOUSLY thought I was going to die on this thing. What?! You're flying down a tube of plastic with water splashing in your face. Not to mention it's completely DARK and you can't see the end or anything. How are you supposed to know when the stinkin' thing is going to END? When do you hold your breath?! I was holding my breath the whole time. Did I mention this thing was about 300 feet long? Yea, I was literally preparing my soul for the heavens in the middle of this thing. But I got out eventually, stunned, my body in shock. Some lifegaurd brat kept yelling at me to get out. Umm... hello? You're a fricken' lifeguard aren't ya? HELP ME!!! jeez... I got whiplash too. I freaked.


So now I'm back to work again. Wow, it sucks. But it's not so bad. I've been spending some time with my new fella. What a cutie... and a good movie buddy! And let's see in about.... oh my gosh THREE days I'm going out of town again. I'll be seeing my Aunt and precious cousins. I love those guys. They just spent about three weeks at our place not to long ago. Now it's our turn to head over there. Which is cool because they live in Oregon, which is where I grew up. It's my home, and I do love my home. It's a place where although it may be 105 degrees outside, there will always be a cool breeze to keep you cozy. A place where you can plant any kind of flower outside and you don't have to worry about it not lasting through the winter. A place where you actually feel like you can breathe because the air is so fresh from the ocean. Oh, don't even get me started about the ocean... such an exhilirating... familiar place. Just the sight of it gives me goosebumps. And the sounds it makes... I love it. I miss it. Eventually I'll get back there. Not sure when exactly but... eventually.

Ain't it pretty?

Ok well I'm getting tired. It's almost midnight. Not sure if I want to put in a movie or something. I'm in the mood for a light romance. Maybe Say Anything. How cute is that movie, huh? My opinion though, John Cusack is looking better now than he ever has. Did you all catch Identity? Phew... very handsome. Hey... do I own that one? Nah, too scary for a nighttime movie. hmmm...


Well, night you all. Stay tuned for some movie bashing. :-)


Love,
Steph