Sherlock Holmes

What a great movie to see with the family on Christmas day! It was action packed, fun, and full of twists and turns. Nothing special about this movie. It's your typical Hollywood blockbuster but it is entertaining.

Avatar

Holy cow!!!! I only went to see this movie because Clay wanted to. I was surprised and thought it was amazing. It looked cool, sounded cool, and even had a great (yet not original) story to boot. Michelle Rodriguez needs a new bag of tricks though...she always plays the same character. I hear it's amazing in 3D.

Brothers

I loved this movie. It has all the stuff I like in a movie: angst, violence, tears, love, family issues ;-) In all seriousness, it was a good movie but it was heavy so you've been warned. The cast was great and it was good to see some faces we have not seen in a while. It gives insight as to what military families have to deal with sometimes.

Invictus

Just when I started to get bored the movie picked up pace and caught my attention. There seems to be a theme running through the movies and books I have been reading lately and this one fell right into line. Even with it's slow start by the end of the film I was sold! Morgan Freeman was wonderful as always. Stay for the credits and see real photos from which the movie was based.

Precious

Man...I could not talk for a little bit after leaving this one. The emotions stuck in my throat were really intense and heavy. This film was so honest and so brutal that I will never forget it. I think it was an amazing film and everyone needs to see it. I'm sure we will see this nominated at the Oscars this year.

New Moon

I have seen it twice at this point and I think it rocks. SOoo much better than the first movie. From what I understand the critics are still calling this one a cheesy film. Have they read the books??? You would think they would know what to expect. There is not anyway a filmmaker is going to get around the cheese in these stories. I thought it was a good representation of the book and I liked it.

Capitalism: A Love Story

I think this might be his best film yet. It is however his most boring film to date but the information is priceless. I think no matter your political view point that there is something for us all in this film.

Good Hair

What a great documentary!! Chris Rock does an stellar job of teaching us "white folks" about the world of black hair. It was unbeweavable ;-)

Zombieland

Holy shit this movie is awesome!!! I could watch it again and laugh just as hard. Woody Harrelson is so great in this that I just want to eat him up! The whole cast was awesome. If you like zombie/comedy films this one is totally for you! Even if you don't like zombie movies you will still get quite a bang for your buck. All around this was a good film.

Couples Retreat

Boooooo. Wait to rent this one or watch it on TV because it was not nearly as funny as it could have been. Even my mom thought it was "just okay". Unfortunately the killer cast was just not enough. Jason Batemen's last two movies, Extract and Couples Retreat, have both been let downs. They give all the funny parts away in the previews. The other thing is they filled the movie with what Hollywood considers typical couple's humor and some of it was just plain stupid and cynical.

Bright Star

What a heart breaking film. Beautiful but heart breaking all the same. The acting was great and I loved the leads. Heather and I both left wondering where we have seen them before. The only acting downfall to the movie was Paul Schneider and his horrible Irish/Scottish accent. I love him and love looking at him but his role in this movie was not so great. Your heart hangs heavy when leaving the theater but it's totally worth it.

The Burning Plain

Wow...this was an intense movie. Worth seeing but make sure your not already depressed when you watch it ;-) The story was really cool and I like the way it was told with interweaving the individual character stories.

It might get Loud

Brilliant! I loved it from beginning to end. I was the only girl in the theater, but I think any person who loves music and appreciates a good guitar player would like this documentary. Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack While all have very cool stories to tell. Seeing the three feed off each other was very interesting to watch and sometimes uncomfortable. Jimmy Page is a bad ass and this movie just confirms it.

The September Issue

What a great documentary about Vogue and Anna Wintour. If you saw the Devil Wears Prada then you must see this so that you can see the real woman behind the magazine. It was neat to see how the September issue gets made and all the work that and money that goes into it. The money is insane!!! Clay enjoyed this film just as much or maybe a little more than I did so it's not just for the ladies.

Extract

Not so extracting...Heather and I were dissapointed to say the least. The best parts were given away in the previews. It was great to see Clifton!

Taking Woodstock

What a cool movie. It was neat to see how it might have been...displayed on the screen for us all to see and pretend that we were there. Surprisingly there was never any music performed. It focused on the story of those who made the concert happen and how things played out for them. There were some scenes that lasted a bit too long and could have been shortened or cut from the movie completely. The acting was good and it is always a pleasure to see Jeffery Dean Morgan ;-)

Inglorious Bastars

Amazing!!! My favorite Tarantino film by far! Followed by Pulp Fiction. The acting was absolutely superb and the story was just killer...no pun intended ;-) It was a bit on the long side but I was never aware of it. A great comeback film for him! Brad Pitt was spectacular and I dare say this is was his best role.

Inglourious Basterds

This film was great. My favorite Tarintino film by far. I did find out today that it is a remake which I was not aware of. We are going to have to dig up the original. The acting was absolutely amazing.

Paper Heart

I thought this was a faux-documentary but it is actually a real documentary! It is about the comedian/musician Charlyne Yi and her journey to find out what "love" is. While making the film she meets actor Michael Cera and her whole belief that she cannot love or be loved is put to the test. There are some great stories told by couples in love and some really great comedy along the way. All in all it was a great movie. I did a lot of smiling :-)

500 Days of Summer

Very charming and a great unromantic romantic comedy. I really enjoyed Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel! They were great together and had wonderful chemistry. He was not bad on the eyes either. The story was pretty good and over all it was entertaining. There were also some pretty funny parts.

Julie and Julia

Almost better than the book!!! That is really hard to come by these days. I absolutely loved the movie and the book and was very please that the movie was not a let down. I love cooking, Amy Adams, Julia Child, Stanley Tucci and Meryl Streep so it was a winner all around for me!! I want to go out and buy Mastering The Art of French Cooking and cook my life away!!!! Go see it!!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I am not at all happy with this movie...Heather brought it my attention that they left out all of the stuff that made the book good. If you have read the book, you will remember that half the book is focusing on building up of the Order of the Phoenix so they will be ready to overthrow the Dark Lord. The Order battle the death eaters throughout the book and they failed to even include that in the movie...they only show a small scene and only two members of the Order. This movie felt as if it's only purpose is to get us to the next movie...the book was much more enjoyable.
The movie focuses on the romantic relationships that build in the sixth book and the death of a very important character. That's it! They fail to really pull you into the battle that is taking place between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters. Not sure how they are planning on pulling the seventh book off since that all but left that important battle out of this film.
One more thing...they left out many of the details (memories) about the Half Blood Prince...the memories that you read about in the book give you a much better concept of why Dumbledore even wants Harry know them. It's a pretty important point that is all but skipped over in the movie.

Moon

Woooooo...what a movie. The whole concept is far beyond anything I could have imagined. The movie ranges from depressing to mind blowing. You leave thinking about all kinds of things that you don't expect to. I do wish that the ending has been a little more conclusive.

Whatever Works

What an awesome movie!! Woody Allen never lets me down. The cast was killer and the humor spot on. Evan Rachel Wood was hysterical and played her role to a "T". Larry David's character starts getting to you a little towards the middle/end of the movie. Just as soon as it does the movie takes a turn and some well needed relief from all the pessimism saves it. The ending is great and just what I wanted to happen :-)

My Sister's Keeper

I went to see this film with my husband who has not read the book...unlike me. After reading the book the movie was a disappointment. I tried not to tell Clay any details from the book until the movie was over. Once I gave him the run down of the changes he said he preferred the book version too. Not to say the movie is not good but it's just not anywhere near as enjoyable at the book. Your heart strings get tugged something awful no matter which version you go for.
Abigail Breslin and Alec Baldwin are the only two actors that really translate their book characters. Which is a shame because the story does not come across as strong at it could have. Cameron Diaz does not at all make sense but for the movie version I guess she does okay.
Clay's one liner was "Hollywood f**ked it up again"

Away we Go

This movie was really beautiful and funny and just all the right things. The acting was spot on and with every scene a new face popped up. We kept going "hey that's so and so". We laughed a lot and some of us cried a little ;-). This movie is worth going to the art cinema to see for sure.

Food, Inc.

Just go see it...

The Proposal

Betty White is a trip and Ryan Reynolds is soo easy on the eyes that he is worth seeing the movie for if nothing else. It was your typical Sandra Bullock film but not a let down at all. I happen to love a good chick flick every now and then and this one was perfect. Oh and you can never beat a movie with Craig T. Nelson in it!!!

The Hangover

Funny...I laughed a lot...but it is nowhere near as funny as "I love you Man".

Anvil, The Story of Anvil

Anvil is a heavy metal band from Canada that was somewhat big in the 80's. The were considered the "demigods of Canadian metal". They paved the path for all the heavy metal bands we know today but somehow they were never able to make it to the big time. The movie is about their story and how they are still trying to keep the "dream" alive. Super good movie for anyone interested in music and how the industry sometimes does not always work in your favor.

The Soloist

This was a pretty good movie. I like docudramas so I had to see this one. As Clay said, it's a poor mans "Shine". Which is true, but it still has it's moments. I thought the acting was well done but over all it lacked some drama or excitement. I did not enjoy the relationship between Robert Downey Jr.'s character and Cathrine Keener...I could have done without her drab part.

Star Trek

LOVED IT!!!!!! I have never watched Star Trek so I did not know the story but that did not matter at all. It was a really great movie with some good comedic moments. I thought all the actors where perfect for their parts. I really hope there is more to come! Clay and I went to see it at the IMAX but all showings were sold out. We plan on trying to catch it again so we can see it on that huge screen.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Excellent! I loved it. I am a fan of the other X-Men movies and Wolverine is my favorite so this one was a great selection for me to see! Some of the special effects were a little over the top at times but that is to be expected these days. Great date movie ;-)

Adventureland

Save this one for the teenagers...as Clay said "it was more depressing than funny"

The Reader

Oh how my heart aches still...I did not know until hours after this film just how much I was affected by it. I want my husband home and by my side. The love story is just so striking and heartbreaking. Ralph Fiennes and Kate Winslet were absolutely amazing...the actor who played Fiennes as a boy was great as well. This movie was a masterpiece of heartache and romance.

The Edge of Love

Depressing, beautiful, and heart breaking at times. This was a pretty good film and all the acting was spot on. This is a great rainy day film. The cinematography was exquisite.

I love you, Man

AWESOME!!!! I laughed until I cried...how often do you get to say that these days? It was such a funny movie...much more than I could have ever expected. I cannot wait to see it again! Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are both easy on the eyes and have great chemistry. The ended was the only part that felt a little cheesy and by that point you don't care because it's at the end! Go see it if you want to laugh your ass off.

Duplicity

Don't bother...only go see this movie if you just love looking at Julia Roberts or Clive Owen because the story is boring and the plot predictable.

Sunshine Cleaning

LOVED IT!!!! Totally my kind of movie. A little hardship, a little death, a little laughing! What more could you ask for? I was a big fan of "Little Miss Sunshine" so this was a must see for me personally. The writer obviously has something about including death and sunshine in his films...of an Alan Arkin. Clifton Collins Jr. was one of the main actors and I met him in December at the ZBB CD release party. It was really cool to see him in action after talking to him about this role. All I remember is he said he played a guy with one arm.
I really felt like there was a lot in this movie people can connect to. I just plain loved it!

Two Lovers

Boo and hiss!!! Don't bother tormenting your heart for this one. Drama drama and more drama. I don't think any of us left feeling like we had witness anything of greatness and the minute the credits started we were up and out! Your not missing anything...I promise!

The Great Buck Howard

Well...if your a John Malkovich fan then you have to see this. Otherwise see something else. We laughed a lot which I always like but sometimes we were laughing because what was happening was just plain weird. That is a good way to explain this movie it is both "funny haha" and "funny weird". It was produced by Tom Hanks which automatically increases your expectations...just ignore that he was the producer this time around ;-).

The Watchmen

I love love loved the intro!! To me that intro was worth going for. I had no idea what to expect and I knew nothing about the story. With that said, I did have some trouble following what was going on but I did not care too much to figure it out. I just loved the visual aspect of the movie and the soundtrack rocked! I guess I just liked the vibe it gave off. To me it was not your typical comic book turned main stream movie and I felt like there was something in it for everyone.

He's just not that in to you

Thumbs down...I was just not that in to it.

Revolutionary Road

Not nearly as depressing as we thought it was going to be...haha...but depressing none the less. I thought the acting was amazing. Kate Winslet was absolutely breathtaking in some scenes. She has moved to my top five after this movie!

The International

Entertaining and action packed for the second half. Made me want to put all my money in a sock drawer :-)

Last Chance Harvey

I love me some Emma Thompson so I was sold from the get go. It was a cute story and basically a simple movie. You knew how it was going to end just from watching the preview. A great afternoon movie with your friend or on your own.

Slumdog Millionaire

Well...with all the hype my expectations were set pretty high. I do not understanding why it got SO much hype. Yes it was a good movie, yes it had a good story line, and yes the acting was good, but NO it did not strike me as movie of the year material. It was not realistic. I enjoyed the movie "Milk" more, but I am a sucker for a docudrama based on hard facts. I did like the ending and a good ending is hard to come by these days. I do recommend that you see it for yourself.

The Wrestler

Pretty good movie. It was not a pretty film my any means. It was really raw and there were some scenes that I actually covered my eyes. It was just a plan old good movie that comes at you from a different angle. Instead of having a happy ending and everyone getting what they want it was true to real life and how sometimes you are just dealt the short end of the stick. As for Mickey Rourke, I have no previous knowledge of him so I did not have any expectations. I cannot imagine anyone else playing this role as well as he did though.

Underworld:Rise of the Lycans

Loved it!!! All it takes is a few vampires and werewolves to keep my attention. I liked the other two films so it was exciting that they took it back in history to give us insight on the beginning. It is a must see if you have seen the other two movies. Even if you have not seen the other films this one is prequel so your good!

Gran Torino

Amazing film. It was just a cool story and very different. Clint Eastwood was amazing!! For such a serious film we did a lot of laughing.