Simple Randomness

Movie Review - Becoming Jane

Becoming Jane is one of those movies that could have been really good, but the dummies in Hollywood messed it up. Anne Hathaway did a really good job, and overall the story line was really good.

So what is it about the movie that I found annoying? It was all of the obvious sex talk and innuendos that were not so much innuendo-ish… The reason it bugged me so bad in this movie is because it was rated PG! Now, if you wanted to make it PG-13 then I would have expected that, but when you throw all of that in (there’s a big one in the first 5 minutes of the film) on a PG film, it really makes me worry about what the G and PG films are going to be like when my kids start being old enough to watch them. I guess it just goes to show that I’m really going to have to be careful what my kids see.

So would I recommend seeing this movie? It was ok. Not something I’d ever want to own or anything like that. It could have been so much better….but that’s the way with a lot of movies these days it seems…

Movie Review - Dan in Real Life

Over the weekend I saw a couple of movies on video so I figured I’d give my opinion on them. The first one that we saw was Dan in Real Life. I thought this movie was great!

It’s funny because I think the movie was very realistic. You could really for for the guy, and honestly feel sorry for what he’s going through for the whole movie. The other really funny (and really realistic) part was the the love-struck teenage daughter.  My wife and I kept mentioning how it reminded us of her sisters when they were around that age.

Without giving the whole plot away, the movie is about a guy that is raising 3 daughters on his own after his wife has died.  They go to a family get together and while he’s at the bookstore taking a breather Dan meets the woman of his dreams.  He returns to the family talking about the girl he met at the bookstore, only to find out that she’s the girlfriend of his brother that was coming to the same get together.  That’s all I’ll say for now, but it’s quite the funny story.

If you haven’t seen Dan in Real Life I would highly recommend it.  It’s a really clean movie too and I think it’s one of the better movies that Steve Carell has done.

Movie Review: Enchanted

Ok, I know that I’m a little behind the times on this one, but I saw the movie Enchanted for the first time last night. And I must say, that was a pretty funny movie. Granted, I think that the cheesiness of it got a little out of hand at some points, but I think it’s great that Disney made fun of their own musical fairy tale movies!

Here’s what I thought were some great quotes from the movie:

Robert: Don’t sing. It’s OK, you know. Let’s just walk. Can we walk?

Prince Edward: [threatening Robert with his sword] Have you any last words before I dispatch you?
Robert: You have got to be kidding me!
Prince Edward: Strange words!

Well, those are a few highlights. Overall this was a pretty funny movie. Especially Prince Edward. They also took scenes from a bunch of the Disney movies and put them in scattered places, so make sure to watch for that if you see this movie. I give it a thumbs up!

My Favorite Pixar Movies!

I did a post about a week ago about my favorite animated Disney flicks, so I figured it was time to do one about the Pixar movies.  I must say that the Pixar movies are some of the best animated movies ever, so here is my list of favorites:

#3 - Toy Story

I liked the first Toy Story a lot better than the second one, although they are both really really good.  I know that a lot of you are probably already saying, “How could he put Toy Story third?!”  Well just remember that this is my opinion on this blog!

Ok, all joking aside, Toy Story is a great movie and will always be a classic.  It’s creative, funny, and just a good time.

#2 - Monsters, Inc.

I think this movie took Pixar’s creativity to a new level.  I mean c’mon, they made a whole movie about monsters in the closet, and it came out hilarious!  Boo is one cute animated kid, too!  At this point this movie is still a little too scary for my two-year-old, but I’m thinking that he’ll love it once he’s old enough not to freak out.  I guess he’s a little sensitive .

For a long time I probably would have put this as the #1 Pixar movie, but then the REAL #1 came out…

#1 - The Incredibles

I LOVE this movie!  It’s just so funny to think about it, because the whole lawsuit against the ‘Supers’ idea is so believable with the way things are today.  I just love the line where the ‘jumper’ responds back to Mr. Incredible “You didn’t save my life, you ruined my death!”  I could totally see someone doing that today.  Just a great great movie!

Honorable Mentions

I still believe that all of the Pixar movies would deserve mention as great movies, but only so many can make the top 3.  With that being said, there are a few that came close.  Here they are:

A Bug’s Life

Another great Pixar film.  Very creative, very well done, and almost made #3.  But I figured too many people would be upset if Toy Story wasn’t at least in the top 3.

Cars

I’ve only seen this a few times, but I think its a pretty good movie.  I’ll have to watch it a few more times to really get a full review for it, but I would still give it an honorable mention.

Now I know a lot of you may be saying, “What about Finding Nemo!?!?”  Well, it’s a good movie too, but I’ve seen it too many times with my kid.  So I’m a little sick of it.  Sorry!

My Top 3 Disney Animated Flicks

Well, being that I have a 2-year-old and now a newborn, we’re watching a lot of Disney movies lately. Mainly to keep the 2-year-old entertained if you know what I mean. So this got me thinking the other day: what are my favorite Disney movies?

So here are my favorites. Also keep in mind, these don’t include any of the Pixar movies, just the regular animated flicks.

#3 - Tarzan

I personally thought Tarzan was great. They did a much better job of blending the CGI with the regular animation, and it gave a better image of the ape-man really acting like a monkey. The one down side to Tarzan would have to be Rosie O’Donnell, but I will say that she wasn’t too incredibly annoying and I can even convince myself that it isn’t really her.

So Tarzan gets my vote for my #3 favorite. Great story, really good animation quality, and it keeps my kid entertained!

#2 - Lilo and Stitch

I love this movie. I know it’s definitely one of the more off-beat Disney movies, but maybe that’s why I love it. That and its full of a bunch of GREAT one-liners. Here are some of my favorites:

• Lilo: Oh good! My dog found the chainsaw!
• Lilo: [creating voodoo dolls of her playmates] My friends need to be punished.
• Mr. Cobra Bubbles: Thus far you have been adrift in the sheltered harbor of my patience, but I cannot tolerate you being jobless. Do I make myself clear?
• Lilo: Elvis Presley was a model citizen. I’ve compiled a list of his traits for you to practice. Number one… is dancing!

I mean c’mon, with lines like that it has to be a great movie right? If you haven’t seen this one check it out.

#1 - The Lion King

This has probably always been my favorite, ever since I saw it as a kid. The songs are good, the story is great, and you get to see funny subliminal messages… ok, that’s not the real reason, but its a great movie. Honestly I can’t pinpoint the one thing that makes me put this movie number one on my list, I just know that it’s always been my favorite. Scar is a great bad guy, and you can’t go wrong with James Earl Jones as Mufasa. Great movie all around and my #1 favorite Disney animated flick!

Honorable Mentions

So there are a couple of movies that were really close to making the top 3, and I’m still back and forth a little bit. Here are the two that make the honorable mention list:

The Emperor’s New Groove

Another classic, this one is full of great laughs. Also full of great one-liners that you can sit around the dinner table and quote.

Beauty and the Beast

I can’t leave this one out can I? Another high quality, good Disney movie. It didn’t make the top 3 because it’s a little bit more of a chick flick, and I think that Stitch could take the Beast any day! That and I really don’t like the way the Beast looked as a human. He should have stayed a beast.

Heath Ledger Found Dead

I’m sure most of you have heard by now, but actor Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment yesterday. This is really a sad story. I never saw any of his “big pictures” like “Brokeback Mountain”, but I will say that every movie I saw him in I thought he was a great actor. “A Knight’s Tale,” “10 Things I Hate About You”…he was great in all of them. And as you might know from this blog, I am very very excited to see his performance of the Joker in “The Dark Knight” this summer.

So the story is that he might have overdosed on some OTC sleeping pills. I read that he had an interview a while back where he mentioned that taking two Ambien would only give him a hour of sleep. I guess the guy was really stressed and maybe in a moment of frustration he took too many. I guess no one really knows.

It’s interesting, but a lot of times people will look up to the celebrities as having it all, always being happy, not a care in the world. But as more and more of these stories come out I hope people are getting the idea that this really is not the case. Heath Ledger had a great showbiz career ahead of him, but that doesn’t mean that he was free from the stress that must come from it.

For those directly affected, you have my condolences.

The Price of Movie Popcorn - Monopolistic Behavior?

Ok, I’m not gonna get all ‘economist’ on you, so don’t worry. Heck, I had to take basic economics twice in college, so I’m no expert by any means. But after thinking more about the different strikes going on and my guess that the price of movie tickets going up, it made me think about my favorite movie going treat: popcorn!

I am a popcorn lover. In fact, when I was in high school I believed that these were the 4 basic food groups: nachos, skittles, cold cereal, and popcorn. And I did my best to have at least one serving of each every single day. In fact, I remember back in those days that I couldn’t imagine myself going to a movie without having popcorn with it. It just seemed improper not to have popcorn. Then, after a few years of being married I started to actually realize the price that I was paying for my favorite treat at the movie theaters.

Does anyone else agree that the price of popcorn at the movie theater is outrageous?! I mean seriously, the price of popcorn at the theater is almost as much as the ticket (if you get a large anyway). Now, compare this with the price of bag popcorn you can get at the store. You can get a box of 3 bags for a little over a buck! Remember, I’m not an economist, but isn’t this what we call monopolistic behavior?

Yeah yeah, I understand that the theaters probably make most of their money on the treats. Whatever. Does this mean that they are going to go on strike, too? That would be hilarious, the theaters go on strike because they want a bigger cut of the ticket price. Then we’d really see the price of movie tickets skyrocketing and Hollywood would really be messed up.

It was a sad day when I had decided to stop eating popcorn at the theater, but it’s a decision I stand by. I just can’t see the point in buying stale popcorn for $5. So sorry movie theaters… not gonna do it.

Strike One….is Strike Two Coming?

So I heard on the radio this morning that there is a rumor that the actors are going to go on strike just like the screen writers have gone on strike. The rumor is that they will go on strike sometime in the summer.

Now, I guess on some levels I can sympathize for the screen writers and stuff. I mean, without them there is no show and I can see that they are probably getting shafted. But the actors? Granted, not all actors make the kind of money that the superstars do. I get that. Maybe I just hate strikes. The other thing that is going to be lame about all of this is that you can expect the price of your movie ticket to go up. Isn’t that what always happens when there is a string of strikes like this?

The screen writers want more….then the actors want more…then the set guys are going to want more….then the directors are going to want more…it never seems to end. Forget the price of gas, I’m predicting that the price of a movie ticket in 2009 is going to be $25 a ticket! Then we’ll really hear people complain about how prices are going up!

The great thing is that my TV isn’t hooked up anyway. So if the whole entertainment industry gets all messed up, I really won’t care. So go ahead, strike away. But don’t expect me to start to shell out more and more for movie tickets. I’ll find other means of entertainment. Anybody read a good book lately?

The Dark Knight - Looking to be AWESOME!!!

Ok, so I am so totally stoked for the next Batman movie, The Dark Knight. I loved Batman Begins, in fact it’s probably one of my all-time favorite movies. And as I keep watching the trailers for the next one I’m getting more and more excited for it to come out. Too bad I have to wait until next summer to see it!

If you haven’t seen the 2 minute trailer, here’s a link to it on YouTube: The Dark Knight Trailer

Personally, I think it looks like Heath Ledger is going to do an awesome job as the Joker. Everyone talks about how Jack Nicholson was the best on ever. I watched that movie again about a year ago and yeah, he was good, but I think this new Joker is going to be much more sinister and dark. Probably the way he really should be. I am not a big follower of the comic books, but I’m really liking this much darker take on Batman that these new movies are doing.