How Do You Know (2010)

Now this, on the other hand. I did not like. I have always enjoyed James L Brooks films. Terms of Endearment ripped my heart out. I loved Broadcast News and especially As Good As It Gets. I even enjoyed Spanglish after a second viewing. I absolutely did not like this.  I realize that seems harsh, especially when I pretty much like everything. I thought this was just a weak movie, far longer than it needed to be...with unappealing characters (except for always adorable Paul Rudd) I really disliked Owen Wilson (and I usually don't mind him so much) and again, not so in love with Reese Witherspoon anymore either.  I thought if the movie only focused on Paul Rudd and his character, it might have been a decent movie.  I am really happy I didn't bother seeing this at the movies, I would have been disappointed, and I don't even recommend this really, unless you really, really like one of the actors. There are so many better movies to choose from each of them that would be time better spent.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1341188/

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010)

Ah...Woody Allen, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways....even though you seemed to have moved your films across the pond...I still love, love, love your movies.  This was decent. It wasn't my favorite, or my least favorite of Woody Allen's movies.  I think my main complaint about this one is Naomi Watts. I just don't love her.  I don't get her. I thought her character was very basic, and I had no interest in what happened to her in this story.  The movie is a mess of characters that seem to be searching for something "more" in their lives and are not above lying and cheating to help them find it.  I found it amusing, and I absolutely freaking LOVED the end of Josh Brolin's part of the story.  As usual, Allen filled the movie with interesting actor combinations: Anthony Hopkins with Lucy Punch, a British actress that I have come to really enjoy, Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin, the beautiful Freida Pinto and Antonio Banderas, as well as the amazing Gemma Jones. I love Woody Allen, in case I never mentioned that before. I don't care what other people think of his personal life. His movies just really entertain me.  I love the neurotic chattiness of them, I love the flawed characters, I love him.  I do miss seeing him in his movies.  My favorite of his films are the ones that he stars in, like Annie Hall, or Manhattan.  These more recent movies though, I think can appeal to a broader audience and this was one that I thought translated well to people that maybe don't really care for Woody Allen films.
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

All Good Things (2010)

I am in a rut. No doubt about it. I have been behind on writing up my reviews and even behind on watching the movies.  This is about the time I gave up last time I tried this, and I am not going to quit this time.  I will slowly but surely, catch this thing up.  All Good Things was better than I expected.  My expectations were kind of low, even though I love Ryan Gosling, and have started to not mind Kirsten Dunst so much. The plot just didn't interest me at all. Its based on a true story about an unsolved murder case in New York.  Even though it was based on a true story, its not a new story. It was maybe not completely predictable, but it felt like I have seen this movie several times before in one way or another.  What stood out for me was the performances.  Also, seeing Michael Esper and his pretty face didn't hurt much either.  I thought this was worth watching, even if it was kind of predictable.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1175709/

My Name is Khan (2010)

Okay, this movie took me two nights to watch.  I have no idea why I even put it in my queue other than maybe the plot seemed interesting to me.  I also have no idea why I loved it as much as I did. It was most definitely a flawed movie...but I freaking loved it.  This movie is about a Muslim man with Aspergers Syndrome, living in America during the 9/11 attacks. This movie was heartbreaking and beautiful...and then over the top and cheesy too....oh yeah....and super freaking LONG.  The running time on this sucker was 2 hours and 41 minutes. I couldn't handle it the first night, even though I was really into it, I knew I couldn't do the whole thing, so I quit the first night and finished the next.  Rizwan Khan, played by Shah Rukh Khan was by far one of my favorite movie characters since Forrest Gump (which I think he reminded me of anyway) so sweet, innocent, and determined. The story was great, the main stars were fantastic and the first half of this movie was absolutely stunning.....then it sort of flipped into a overly dramatic/Lifetime movie version of Forrest Gump. It became a little too far fetched for me and was just really out there.  However, the good way outweighed the bad and cheesy for me, and I ended up falling in love with the movie anyway.  I looked past the bad acting of a lot of the extra's and some of the supporting roles (which a lot of it was REALLY bad) the main characters were incredible.  This was subtitled though some of it was in english, that got distracting a little too, the whole back and forth of it.  Particularly during the news sequences.  This movie really worked for me though because of the message. Especially during the past few weeks I thought it was really worth watching, especially now.  If you can look past the last hour and its far fetched cheesiness...you should come out liking this movie. I would love to see what other people think of it.
My Name is Khan (2010)

Bambi (1942)

I always remember loving Bambi when I was young.  I had a Bambi book, one of those...Disney book club in the mail kind of things, and it was one of my favorite books as a child. I think my memories of the story book and my memories of the movie itself must have been jumbled in my head. I guess am not a huge Bambi fan after all!  I know its a classic and all that, but I think I am just getting old...I really found this boring this time around. I am sure I watched it in bits and pieces when Ian was younger, but I don't remember it seeming so quiet and long. I think it would have made a great short, but as a full length feature...I lost interest.  Chloe got it for Easter, so she was very anxious to watch it, and she seemed to really enjoy it.  Ian actually did too, which surprised me.  It was cute, but I wasn't in love with it like I thought I was when I was a kid.  The music was nice, the story was cute, and of course....dreadfully sad, but it wasn't as fantastic as I remember it.  Maybe I shouldn't have watched it so close to Toy Story, because the two were worlds apart as far as animation, storyline, etc...I think that may have tainted my experience just a little bit.  Overall, its still a classic, not the worst movie I have ever seen, but not as exciting as I remember!

Bambi (1942)

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Better late than never, right?  Finally found the DVD for this one, and Chloe has been begging me for Buzz, Woody, and Jessie, so I caved and we watched it.  I always say this one is my least favorite of the Toy Story series, but actually, its not as bad as I remembered it.  I still feel its the weakest installment, but it definitely has its redeeming moments.  Not to mention watching it on a really nice TV, in Blu-Ray really looks incredible. Just the texture on Potato Head alone made it worth watching.  I love the Toy Story series.  I think out of all the Disney characters, these are the ones I feel the most attachment to.  Which is probably why I found Toy Story 3 so heartwrenching.  I also think that Ian is exactly like Andy in the way he plays with his toys.  Ever since Ian turned 12 this year, I have been worried about him leaving that kind of play behind for more grown up stuff....so far I have been really lucky and he still wants to build crazy contraptions out of Tinker Toys/Lego/Lincoln Logs and have monsters destroy it.  Its a great world in his imagination and I am not in any hurry for him to outgrow it.  Chloe in particular loves Toy Story 2, I think it may be her favorite, so watching it with her as she acts it out almost the entire time, made it more endearing than it used to be for me.

Shrink (2009)

I had sort of a love/hate relationship with this movie.  I used to be a huge Kevin Spacey fan, but will admit that my love has sort of waned over the years.  However, recently I have fallen in love with Mark Webber, and he was a co-star in this one, so I thought...why not?  There were moments that this movie was a bit too dreary for me. I have been known to like a dreary movie here or there, but this one seemed so hopeless. However, over time, it grew on me. The movie is about Henry Carter (Spacey) a therapist to the stars, who after facing a personal tragedy, turns into a hopeless pothead.  The movie is also an ensemble piece with many interconnected stories. This theme usually appeals to me and in this case, it might have taken a bit too long to start connecting the pieces.  Overall, I enjoyed this movie (as much as you can enjoy depressing material like this) and would halfway recommend it, especially if you are a Kevin Spacey fan.  I thought that there were some fantastic supporting performances by Dallas Roberts, and Keke Palmer as well.  The interaction between Keke Palmer and Kevin Spacey, those scenes were particularly touching and I thought that she did a great job here.  I think its worth watching, if you can get past the rather depressing theme. It has its moments.
Shrink (2009)

Enlighten Up (2008)

Eh. This was just okay for me. It took me awhile to get through it because I got bored from time to time. I think I might need to take a documentary break for a bit because I really just wasn't in the mood for this one. Especially these "project" type movies.  Filmmaker Kate Churchill decides to take a somewhat skeptical guy on a 6 month yoga journey to prove it can transform his life.  I think the project was flawed in many ways, as  Nick (in my not so professional opinion) never really opened his mind, and didn't really commit to any one yoga path for very long. I get the whole, "trying" out many of the different yoga paths.  But I firmly believe that you would need to give each one more than a week of half attempts at really getting into the system, before it will really start making a difference in parts of your life.  I found it interesting, but not great.
Enlighten Up (2008)

I Promise...

I promise to catch up from Doctor Who week. I have been watching a ton of movies, just haven't been able to form any opinions or write anything out yet.  I have been super busy (gasp) enrolling in school!  I can't believe I am going to take classes again. I haven't been to college ( and I realize this is seriously dating me) since 1998. I am freaking out a little bit, because I know things have changed a bit since then.  It is my goal to sit around in my PJ's tomorrow, finish watching the few movies that I have yet to finish and try to catch up my blog.  Thanks for not giving up on me....all four of you :)  I will be back with some brief opinions tomorrow!
Update: I back dated my entries for my own sanity and have caught up....WHEW!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010)

Okay...I know. This is not the kind of movie you all want to hear about.  But I got sucked into it when Ian was watching it over and over this week. I haven't actually sat down and watched it from beginning to end, so I actually hesitate to post about it at all, it might really suck.  But from what I have seen so far, in bits and pieces, its actually kind of amusing.  I haven't read the books, I have nothing to compare this to at all.  But I laughed a few times, and I heard my husband, a grown 38 year old man, laughing even harder at it.  I am reviewing it because lets face it....I am freaking behind here and I am grasping at straws to keep this thing going. This is just past the part I gave up back in 2006, and I am so much more determined to keep it up.  So I am halfway recommending this movie for anyone with kids, because mine seems to really love it, and from what I have seen so far, its not the most annoying movie on the planet for an adult to sit and watch.  Oh, and Steve Zahn is in it, so thats usually enough for me. I still crush on him in a big way.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid

Marwencol (2010)

Wow. This movie was so good. I know this is going to be a very basic review, because I am out of words, plus this movie and story was just so interesting, and different that I am not even sure if writing about it can do it justice. You should just watch the movie for yourself and see.  I remember reading about it from one of my favorite blogs on the planet ( http://www.megwood.com/ ) and of course, added it to my list to watch it "someday".  It popped up in my Instant queue the other day so I finally got to watch it.  I thought it was really just fantastic. Its about Mark Hogancamp, who after being beaten in an attack, starts to create a little world of his own, using dolls and very elaborate sets, taking photographs of the scenes.  The art, which is what I am calling it, is truly amazing and intricate and beautiful. The story is equally as riveting as it slowly unravels and you find out more details about Mark and his story.  I think this is a must see.
Marwencol