V for Vendetta

Wow it's been a while since I've done a review...not that I haven't seen some awesome movies, just busy. But V for Vendetta is worth taking the time to write about. What an amazing movie- action, politics, Ms. Portman in a pink tutu (for the guys) - it was all great. I didn't know anything about this story prior to the movie, other than that it was originally a comic. I'm interested to see what else the comic series can add to this story.

Set in future Britain, the government has ultimate control of the people. We're talking curfews, banishment of certain itmes like art, literature, movies, etc. How did the governemtn become so powerful? Fear. Series of events created a fear in the public that was so powerful, they basically gave up their freedom for government protection (aka- total control).

That's as much as I'll give away. I highly recommend you see this movie. It will make you think.

Unleashed

Wow, it's been a while since I wrote a review. I've seen a few movies since July 24th, just been too busy to post anything. But, since I am here, and i just posted on my main blog, I will write about a GREAT movie i just saw- Unleashed, with Jet Lee and Morgan Freeman. Story about a young man named Danny (lee), who was brought up to be a trained killing machine, like a dog. And through certain events he finds himself sitting with a blind man named Sam (freeman), helping him tune a piano. Danny, not used to socializing and being around others is taken in by sam, and slowly but surely Danny sheds his dog-colar, and see's what life is like as a "normal" person, and also discovers information about his past.

This is a film that really has a lot going on- great action scenes, blood, death; and some really beautiful, heart-warming parts with love, grief, and at the end an overwhelming feeling of self-discovery and peace. Fabulous movie- highly recommed it. *****( five stars)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith

I really did not want to see this movie. The previews didn't make it look all that interesting, but Greg really wanted to see it. And since we ended up seeing Madagascar last time, this time we saw his movie. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed it. It was entertainging, andthe story was different then what I thought it would be. I like to think of is as True lies take nto the next level, where both man and wife are secret agents lying to each other. Lots of guns, explosions, figh scenes, some are pretty amusing. It is an entertaining movie, doubt it will be winning any Oscars, but i didn't feel bad spending money to see it. Though at the end, Greg and I founda few things to pick on about the movie, a few inconsistencies and odd parts, otherwise- I give it ***1/2 (three and 1/2 stars.

Penguins!!!!

I've seen March of the Penguins twice and it is a wonderful movie. It documents the journey king penguins take across the Antarctic, lasting for a week or so, until they reach their final destination where all the king penguins gather to mate. Once the egg is ready, the mother transfers it to the father so look after while she returns to the sea for food, because she has not eaten for months. The movie follows the challenges these penguins face all for the sake of finding love and having babies. There is happiness, laughter, and also sorrow and maybe you'll shed a tear. In the end, you may leave with feelings of hope, and appreciation for these magnificent animals.

***** (five stars) Highly recommended, but parents- if you want to take your little ones, beware that there are scenes of unpleasantness that your young ones may not enjoy, so be respectful and take them to a daytime showing, so us adults can enjoy our evening shows without kids crying. Thanks. :)

Madagascar

On Friday Greg and I wanted to see a movie. At first we were going to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but when we got to the Metreon it was sold out. I remembered that it was showing in Daly City also, so we drove there, and right as we were in line, it sold out. We didn't see any other movie of interest playing at that time, except for madagascar. I was happy, because I have been wanting to see that movie for a while. So we got our tickets, but the movie had already started about 10 minutes into the film, so we missed part of the beginning.

The movie was funny. Lots of cute animals running all over the place. The penguins were awesome- I loved those guys. Even Greg laughed at them. The movie as a whole though was a but of a disapointment. I had expected more I guess and the movie didn't meet my expectations. It was entertaining, but it seemed to be lacking something. So, despite the cuteness and funny moments, I have to give this movie ** (2 stars).

On a side note, I just found this preveiw for the movie "march of the penguins"- it looks SOOOOOOOO good. it is a documentary about the king penguins and the journey they take for a few weeks across the freezing arctic to find their mates. it's narrated by Morgan Freeman (cool guy), and just looks like an amazing film. I want to buy it already.

Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith

The final installment of the Star wars Pre-trilogy is here- and I definitly recommend seeing it. I know a lot of people were very dissapointed in the first 2 episodes...and yeah, they weren't that great. But this one is a huge improvement. 60% of this trilogys' story is in episode 3. Anakin isn't as whinny as he was in episode 2. Padme though looks like crap, which I am sorry to say because she looked so great in the first 2 episodes. Guess the "hair and makeup" budget was running low. The movie is very dark, obviously because Anakin is heading for the dark side. Kinda leaves you feeling a little bummed, now that we have gotten to know (and for some love) Anakin, and then seeing him go to the dark side, is sad. Episode 3 tied up some loose ends for me, but now I want another trilogy that covers the next 15-20 years showing Luke, and Leia growing up and stuff. i say this movie is definitly worth seeing, especially in the theater. i give it *** (three stars).

Crash

i saw this movie with my pal Marie (aka Murray) and her girlfriend Jill this past saturday. wow, what an intense movie. Don't see it if you are planning on having a happy, light-hearted evening. The movie was excellent, but also bad. In the sense that the things you saw go on made your skin crawl. Each characters story was interesting, and they all kind of intertwined with each other. The movie also had some lighter moments where you could actually laugh. But what I thought was interesting, and you can all this as food for thought if you go see the movie, is noticing when the audience laughs, when they are dead quiet, and when they react negatively/shocked. I started paying attention to this when during the movie, sandra bullock falls down the stairs in her home, and some pople (not the majority) started laughing. and i thought- hey that's not really funny. so it just got me thinking: when do people laugh/non laugh? what do they laugh at? and (since the movie was about racism) WHO is laughing at WHO? I mean, this movie really conjured up some intense feelings from eveyone in the theater, and I wonder if people started taking sides and stuff. Sorry, kind of dark thoughts, but I think it would be intersting to find our the answers to those questions. overall, great movie- I give it **** 4 stars.

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Greg and I saw this movie a few weeks ago. It was his choice. I wasn't really interested in seeing this in the theater, it just seemed kinda silly. The only part about the movie I liked from the previews was the martian-robot "Marvin"- he's cute and funny. The rest of the movie was actually pretty amusing. The opening scene was hilarious, with the dolphins signing, I need the soundtrack. And there were othe amusing parts, but the story itself seemed to be going in all sorts of directions and I couldn't understand why they had to go get the gun thingie, and then they got it, and never even gave it to the person who wanted it....stuff like that. Inconsistencies. Apparently other people who have actually read the book, and saw the movie, told me there was a lot of stuff missing. Figures. I did like the cast though, a lot of people from one of my favorite movies- Love Actually. So that's my reveiw, I wasn't upset at seeing it in the theater, it was an entertaining movie, but definitly had some flaws. *** 3 stars.

Downfall

On Saturday my sister wanted to go see this movie called "Downfall," it was about Hitler and the last few weeks of this life and of the war. I was bored and didn't feel like doing my research paper so I went with her. It was a really good movie. Very dark and depressing, but hey- how else can such a historic event be portrayed? The actor who played Hitler was pretty good, and the whole movie just gave me a bit of insight of how Hitler was, his dreams of ruling the world, and how he was mentally unstable. The movie is based on facts from books, transcripts, and personal accounts (I believe) and seemed very factualy in its account of how it all ended. Some things that really amazed me was how entranced people were with Hitler and his ideals. The movie showed several people praising him, and what he was doing for "the Motherland," and that they would stand by him until the end. This one high-ranking officer had his wife and 6 kids come to the bunker where they were all hiding out. The mother was told to leave Berlin since the Russians were getting closer, but she wouldn't go. She didn't want her children brought up in a world without National Socialism. Instead, she gave her kids a sleeping drug to knock them out, and as they slept, she gave them all a capsul of poision and killed them all. Then she had her husband shoot her, and then he shot himself. It is really amazing to think that all of this happened. Of course upon leaving the theater after being in there for nearly 3 hours (long movie) I was a bit depressed. How could you not be?