We finally saw the movie 88 Minutes the other night.  I don’t know what we were so busy with when it came out in the theaters, but we somehow didn’t get around to seeing it then.  The reviews were so unfavorable that I forgot we had missed it; I guess I just wrote it off.  I’ve learned time and time again to go opposite what most reviewers say, so I don’t know why I let them get to me this time…

So anyway, the movie is about a very well known forensic psychiatrist played by Al Pacino.  A serial murderer he testified against is hours away from execution when Pacino receives a phone call saying he has 88 minutes to live – tick tock tock.  Much action and plot twists ensue, and at the conclusion, I found myself very satisfied with this movie as a thriller – something I can’t say about the last few thrillers I’ve seen.  There are a whole bunch of characters, and the movie manages to make all of them interesting and VERY suspectable.  What surprised me was my ability to keep them all straight – that is usually something I have a problem with when watching movies – I tend to mix up characters especially when the actors playing them look the slightest bit alike, and I also have trouble remembering names.  Although I can’t put my finger on what was different about this movie, I was able to differentiate between all the characters; not only remembering who was who but their names and relationship to the main character – rarities for me.  Adding to my enjoyment of the movie was the fact that it kept you on the edge of your seat, and its many plot twists and turns kept you guessing and didn’t come out too cheesy in the end, which can sometimes ruin a good action movie.  Al Pacino was good and believable in his role, though believe it or not I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything else.  Lee Lee Sobieski and Amy Brenneman also rounded out the supporting cast with strong performances.  Overall, a very good action suspense film and I would definitely recommend it to fans of the genre.  Others who might enjoy it are true-crime buffs and CSI fans. 

Casino Royale was the first Ian Fleming James Bond novel written back in 1953. Since then, the movie rights have been tied up in legal matters and just recently joined the ranks of the official Bond movie series. The 2006 movie was essentially a reboot of the franchise. It introduced a BLONDE Bond in Daniel Craig who I am having a hard time warming to. Hopefully with a new adventure arriving in November, he will grow on me. In any case, the lates movie opens in traditional fashion with a pre-credit sequence which illustrates Mr. Bond’s first two kills… thereby granting him his Double-O status. That is about as similar to most films in the series as it gets. This film is considerably darker but no less entertaining than the rest.

The plot of the movie concerns Bond and a female treasury agent (Vesper Lynde) on the trail of a weapons financier, Le Chiffre, who has a rather disturbing physical abnormality. Bond is entered into a literal life and death Texas Hold ‘Em tournament with the villain. The hope is to defeat Le Chiffre and force him to aid the British government in exchange for protection from his creditors.

I found the character of Bond to be quite interesting. He is not the seasoned super spy who has been out in the field thwarting the evil plans of countless bad guys. Instead, he is careless, untried, and has an enormous ego making M question her decision to promote him to 007. Along the way, Bond learns an important lesson in the espionage game both from experience and from the advice from his superior: “Trust no one.”

As usual, the action sequences are quite thrilling to watch. One of the most memorable scenes (in fact one taken directly from the novel) involves 007 being tortured by Le Chiffre in a way which would seem to decimate his manhood forever. In true form, Bond is able to make a quick though painful quip. Also like any good Bond film, is the double entendre and suggestive character name. Ms. Lynde’s cover identity is Miss Tiffany Broadchest.

Although dark in tone, Casino Royale does provide enough heart-pounding action to satisfy. I’m not entirely sure if this was a total reboot of the series. I hope we have not seen the end of original supporting characters like weapons master Q or flirtatious secretary Miss Moneypenny. Casino Royale ALMOST took itself too seriously.

Super hero movies are not must-sees for me, but we caught a showing of The Incredible Hulk the other day mainly because there was nothing else playing that we hadn’t seen already.  Since physical activity is out for me (but only for another few weeks – YAY!!), going to a movie on our weekly date night has been popular because even someone of my girth can enjoy sitting in an air-conditioned movie theater for a few hours.  I was also drawn to this movie because I remember really enjoying The Incredible Hulk tv series  as a very young child.  So both my husband and I were entertained by the movie; it was action-packed, and the special effects weren’t terrible looking like they were in the previews.  Edward Norton was good, and so was Liv Tyler, but then again, I don’t think I’ve seen her in anything where she was horrible…  except maybe that Aerosmith video in which she appeared in the ’90’s, but then again, I’m not a fan of music videos anyway.  We did come away with a few questions regarding the believability of the film, but of course, you’re talking about a super hero movie, and our questions were answered by a helpful friend who reads Marvel comics.

Of my 2 favorite things about the movie, one was the surprise at the end, which I’m not going to spoil, but I will say this – if you’re a comic fan, you will REALLY enjoy the surprise.  The other thing I really liked was an inside joke I actually got, even though I don’t read comic books.  Liv Tyler’s character buys Bruce Banner some pants, and wouldn’t you know it, she picks out a pair of bright purple ones – a nod to the old tv series where the Hulk wore purple.  I thought that joke was especially funny and clever, and I’m glad they included it.  Also enjoyable is the Lou Ferrigno cameo; he’s the original Hulk from tv who appears in this movie as a security guard and also voices the computer generated Hulk.  If you like the comics, you’ve probably seen this already, but I’d also recommend it for anyone who likes fantasy/action movies or if you were a fan of the Hulk tv show from decades ago.  It’s not going to make me start reading comic books, but it was well worth seeing just for the nostalgia factor alone.

Continuing with AFI’s list, I will now comment on the fantasy world. This genre is by far the one in which most people have to leave their logic and knowledge of the ordinary world at the doorstep and embrace their inner child. This was perhaps my favorite segment (as they did not include the 10 best musicals). But here goes:

• Big (I believe that this Tom Hanks film re-started the whole kid-transforming-into-an-adult-overnight craze)
• The Thief of Baghdad (silent movie that I cannot comment on)
• Groundhog Day (? OOOOKKKKKK…. Why?)
• Harvey (classic Jimmy Stewart film… near and dear to one of my frequent readers)
• Field of Dreams (they built it and they did come again a bit of a ?)
• Miracle on 34th Street (the original in glorious black and white which I have commented on before)
• King Kong (1933 big scary monkey climbs Empire State Building and go boom)
• It’s a Wonderful Life (another Jimmy Stewart favorite at Christmas time…. once in your life did you not want to know the world would be like if you were never born?)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (one of the most faithful book to screen adaptations ever conceived)
• The Wizard of Oz

In my humble opinion, the classic Oz deserves to be at the top. I dare say that this movie has lived on for over seventy years and I do not know of anyone who has never seen it. If there is they must live under a rock. Speaking of rocks, there is at least one film that should have been in there somewhere. The Neverending Story is a fun fantasy (featuring Rock Biter) for children of all ages full of wonder and far away worlds. Also, where is The Princess Bride? The inclusion of Groundhog Day just made me scratch my head. How does one get on to vote on this A.F.I. list anywho?

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This morning after I was so rudely interrupted, I turned on our local radio station where one of my fellow Little Women cast members delivers the news. One of the featured topics of the day was “The worst movies ever made.” I know the film that at least one of my readers finds to fit that bill… and I am pleased to say that I have yet to watch The Night Listener with Robin Williams. I have mentioned from time to time Norbit and Howard the Duck. However, there has to be some other good stinkers out there. Here are a few:

• Leonard Part 6 (starring Bill Cosby during the waning years of The Cosby Show… did not make me ask what happened to the other five previous films))
• Ghost Dad (also featuring Mr. Cosby which goes to show that bankability in one form of entertainment does not guarantee success in other forms)
• Rocky V ( and about 2/3 of the movies Mr. Stallone has graced us with… thank goodness the series came back and went out on a better note with Rocky Balboa)
• Jaws the Revenge (Bruce the Shark looked even more fake)
• Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (sorry Mr. Shatner, your directorial debut was not your finest hour

I am sure there are several other (un)worthy films to include on this list. Please feel free to join in the fun and making us all relive some of the low moments in theatrical movie history.

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The advice in the title of my blog post sounds obvious in retrospect.  Mike Myers‘ new movie The Love Guru did not look funny, nor did it look like a good movie…  But date night this week found us in a neighboring town whose movie theater has a card club – you earn points every time you see a movie and earn rewards with the points – free popcorn, drinks, candy, movie tickets.  We were lucky enough to have earned movie tickets the other day, and when we realized this would probably be one of the last movies we’d see without a newborn baby along, we decided to make it a double feature with our earned tickets.  We had gone to the theater to see Get Smart, the latest Steve Carell movie.  Since the times lined up well and we wouldn’t have much time to kill between the movies, we chose The Love Guru (regrettably) for our second movie.

Get Smart
There is one reason why I would want to see this movie after never having seen the ’60’s tv show: Steve Carell.  The guy is a good actor who is always fun to watch, so we couldn’t resist checking out his latest work.  It wasn’t the best example of Carell’s talent, but it was exactly what I was expecting, plus entertaining and amusing.  The fictional gadgetry was clever and the action was plentiful; there were also some funny jokes thrown in (Bill Murray‘s cameo is one of the best parts), and overall it was a good time.  Anne Hathaway was good as Agent 99, but it makes me wonder what the character was like in the tv show…  And I wonder what else I missed since I’ve never seen an episode of the tv version of Get Smart?  Maybe I’ll some across one someday, but for now, the movie wasn’t good enough to make it a priority.

And because I don’t want to waste any time talking about The Love Guru, I’m just going to copy and paste someone else’s review from imdb.com which I think sums up the movie perfectly:
R.I.P. Mike Myers Career
I saw this film last night in a advance screening. I can say without a doubt it is the worst movie I’ve ever seen in the theater. It is simply a terrible movie. For every joke that’s funny (which are few) there is about dozen that are not. Then there’s all the jokes we’ve seen in previous Myers films that aren’t so funny the 4th time around when they appear in this flick. Many moments in this film will having you looking around the theater wondering if anyone else finds this movie as stupid as you do.
That’s really the bottom line. This movie is stupid. Take every fear you’ve had watching the trailer, times it by 10 and you will get an idea of how bad this film is.
By the way, the hockey in this movie will leave any one who loves the game sick to there stomach. The hockey portrayal left me in tears. Its brutal ! The film is a HUGE slap in the face to hockey. Thanks Mike Myers !
On a positive note though, Justin Timberlake and Stephen Colbert are hilarious. The only time i enjoyed the movie at all was when they were on screen. I never thought in a million years I would leave a movie saying ” Thank God Justin Timberlake was is it.”
In short : this movie is terrible ! Don’t believe me ? Then throw your money away and see for yourself.

HAHAHA – I especially like the part in the review, “I never thought in a million years I would leave a movie saying, Thank God Justin Timberlake was in it.”  So true…
At least we got in for free, though the movie was so bad, it was almost a waste of reward points!  But it was a short movie and any time together for husband and wife away from the kids is priceless by itself, so I can’t say it was a total waste – but seriously, don’t see it! 🙂 

Another of the AFI list of top 10 categories was Science Fiction (which some believe will be tomorrow’s “science fact.” I promise I will not bore and go into depth on each of the genre’s… just those I know a bit about from viewing.

Their List:

• Back to the Future
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day
• Alien
• Blade Runner
• The Day the Earth Stood Still
• A Clockwork Orange
• E.T. The Extraterrestrial
• Star Wars
• 2001: A Space Odyssey

I will agree with the five films that I know well to a point. I’m not sure if I would include Back to the Future. Sure it is a fun time-travel movie that I have watched multiple times, but will people remember it 30 years from now. T2 is the best of the Terminator series and a wonder of film-making even 17 years later. Blade Runner is purhaps best summed up as a cult favorite (one of Harrison Ford’s semi-forgotten films… not by me, but…). Aliens and The Empire Strikes Back were far superior movies than their predecessors. E.T. almost could have been included in the fantasy category but should be included on either. And their top choice? I could not make it through the first 45 minutes of silence and a representation of the beginning of man set to the magnificent strains of Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra.
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Recently, the American Film Institute (AFI) presented their list of 10 Top Films in 10 Categories. It seems that every year, the group presents their list of 100 Films in various specials (one was 100 Years 100 Songs). This year they decided to be diverse and focus on animation, sci-fi, gangster, fantasy, western, sports, mystery, romantic comedy, courtroom drama,

The top ten Animated as presented by the AFI:

Finding Nemo

Cinderella (1950)

Shrek

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Toy Story

Fantasia

The Lion King

Bambi

Pinocchio

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves

I suppose there is always going to be something to be said for the achievement Walt Disney made in 1937 by creating the first full-length animated feature. However, I do not think that it should be considered the crowning achievement in animation. To me, Beauty and the Beast is an even greater accomplishment. It not only continued the resurrection of the animated feature begun by The Little Mermaid, but almost made me forget that I was watching an animated movie. The scene in which Belle and the Beast dance to the title song begins with what would normally be termed a crane shot (if it were not an animated feature). Beauty also holds the distinction of being the first animated movie to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.   It was also the first fully animated Disney film that I really thought would make a great musical on the stage (coincidence?). Every time I watch the film, I can imagine each of the characters being brought to life on stage; and yes, I have even imagined myself as my favorite character in the show. I am terrible audience member.

Beauty and the Beast (Disney Special Platinum Edition)

Last night’s final dress rehearsal contained a small, intimate audience including two of my best friends who really enjoyed the performance (even if I am killed by a girl… not my fault that is how it is written). But I was really pleased with the entire evening. The length of the performance actually was about 10-15 minutes shorter than what we had been anticipating most of the week. I even got a crash course in spotlight use to substitute for the irreplaceable light woman who was still ill.

Today, while sitting at my brother’s house waiting for a package that was to be delivered, I found the 1994 movie version of Little Women on television. Like most works that have more than one form, there were some differences between the stage and movie versions. I believe that both versions contain at heart the same theme: Do not be afraid to be true to yourself. Do not allow society to impact that which you truly feel you are meant to do.

I also was able to dig deeper into some of the characters while watching the movie. I often wondered why Grandfather Lawrence (John Neville) was at first portrayed as a crotchety old man and then have a change of heart by his interactions with Beth. Like Captain Von Trapp in the Sound of Music, Mr. Lawrence lost someone close to him which left an emptiness. Hearing Beth (Claire Danes) play the piano filled that void, lifted his spirits, and melted his heart… AWWWWW.

Mr. Lawrence’s grandson Laurie (Christian Bale) is also given more depth in the movie. After his marriage proposal to Jo (Winona Ryder) is rejected, Laurie runs off to Europe and becomes a womanizing drunk until he encounters Amy (Kirsten Dunst) painting at school. At first, I believe that Laurie was in love with the idea of becoming a true member of the March family. However, I do believe that through the courtship he did fall in love with Amy.

Nowhere is the central core of both pieces more substantial than in Jo’s venture from Concord to New York where she meets Professor Bhear (Gabriel Byrne). Although they are both headstrong and stubborn, the professor encourages Jo to write that which is pleasing to her and not to the publishers who keep rejecting her stories. This path may not lead to a great financial career but will in time please her on a personal level.

Another important part of both versions are the wild, imaginative plays the girls perform. In a scene from the movie, Meg attends a party given in honor of Annie Moffett’s coming of age. Annie decides to turn Meg into something she is not and Meg foolishly agrees to “play” along by wearing a corset showing off her figure, and experimenting with drinking (Trini Alvarado). Laurie catches her and she immediately hides in a corner, full of shame.

So while both versions are basically true to each other, there are moments in each which enhance both.

We went to see the newest M. Night Shyamalan movie last night – The Happening starring Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel.  It’s an end-of-the-world type movie, but what sets this one apart from the others is that neither the audience nor the characters in the movie know what is happening to the population and why.  People just start acting strange – it begins in parks, where crowds of people freeze in their tracks, and then they begin to slowly and methodically commit suicide.  It’s really creepy!  I especially liked how little gore and there was and how tame the violence was, especially by today’s standards and with all the death that was occuring in the movie.  Before we went, I had read some bad reviews about it, but I didn’t find it boring in the slightest as some of the reviews suggested.  It was a gripping, intense, and interesting movie, not to mention effectively eerie.  I don’t want to give too much away, so all I will say is that I was hoping for more of a resolve and explanation at the end, but since I’ve seen other M. Night Shyamalan movies, I was also expecting even less closure than we received.  He writes, directs, and produces his own movies; they are usually thought-provoking suspense films, often laced with twists – I recommend The Village, Unbreakable, and The Sixth Sense to try a few.  Overall, I would say it was a really good doomsday-TYPE movie.  Please don’t think it compares to the movie called Doomsday – one of the most awful I’ve ever seen.  But The Happening has an interesting premise, and it achieves fright without overdoing the gore, which is unusual for scary movies in this day and age.  My one problem with the movie is Mark Wahlberg’s acting – at times it’s just awful!  I don’t know why he was cast in this movie, but at least he doesn’t ruin it.  Zooey Deschanel is good – didn’t even see any glimpse of her character from Elf -and John Leguizamo has a strong performance as well.  It is 90 minutes well-spent!