Sex And The City

If you loved the TV show as much as I did, then you’ll love it. They give you a little recap in the beginning to catch you up on each character’s history, so even those who never watched the show can enjoy it. The pre-wedding part of the movie flew by and felt choppy, but the movie is over 2 hours, so they had to cram a lot in. After the “Big” day, the movie slows to a more manageable rate, without the choppiness. Samantha is just as fabulous as always, Charlotte is still sweet and optimistic, Miranda is a bit overworked and Carrie is the same old Carrie. My only question is: What happened to Marcus, Sanford’s one true love? They could have mentioned him in passing to give us a hint at what happened with him. Even though the evil previews gave away the two main dramas that the movie is centered around, I refuse to give any of it away. I was just hoping they would have given Samantha more of a grand finale to her storyline. She was always my favorite with her unapologetically unabashed love for sex :). If you love chick flicks, go see it! I loved it!

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Another fun addition to the Indiana Jones series. This time a young kid, Shia Labeouf, convinces Indy to go to Peru to rescue his kidnapped mother (Karen Allen) and also an old colleague of Indy’s, who was originally on the quest for the Crystal Skull. Also involved are a Russian group led by Cate Blanchett who are also interested in the findings of Indy’s old colleague and anything Indy may be able to offer in the search of the Crystal Skull. I am not giving away any more! Go see it! Lots of fun adventures and mysteries to unravel. A fun movie.

Son of Rambow

Go see this one if you get a chance! A British movie about two boys who are complete opposites who, after seeing “First Blood”, decide to film a version of their own. One boy is sweet and naïve, and brought up by a strict religious group, the Brethren, that don’t allow him to watch TV. The second boy is straight out of Denise The Menace and can’t help but get into trouble. The movie takes place in the 80’s at the time the first Rambo movie, First Blood, came out. There is also a creepy French exchange student who epitomizes everything that was bad about 80’s fashion. I honestly thought he was a girl at first, and it took some time before I realized he was a boy. This is not a straight out comedy, as we expect coming out of England. It is more of a drama with some funny parts. I definitely recommend this one, its great!

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer

Three generations of women all search for love, or at least a satisfied libido, in this sweet – but slow – movie. There is a running theme about women and cars, and each woman’s fate is affected by cars or lack thereof. The granddaughter (America Ferrera) is a 17 year old coming of age and looking to explore her sexuality, and thinks she finds it when a cute guy rides into her (very!) small town in the middle of nowhere. Her mom (Elizabeth Peña), who has been all work and no play for years, tries to fight temptation with a neighborhood flirt. And Grandma seeks independence by buying an old car and getting driving lessons from her gardener. Grandma is a very proper woman but finds difficulty in suppressing her desires. This is a very slow moving, low budget-type movie, with some long sensual scenes that were, at times, a little uncomfortable to watch. But if you have patience for this type of movie, this one has a quiet beauty about it. All I can say is: Go Grandma!

Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

I think I liked this better than the first Narnia movie, and that one was great! The same 4 siblings find themselves transported back to Narnia after being beckoned to assist a prince to prevent his throne from being overtaken by an evil uncle. A few cool battles with even cooler creatures ensue. It felt like a cross between the Harry Potter movies (one creature sure looked a lot like Buckbeak the Hippogriff) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I think they stole some Ents!). The only “star” that I recognized from this film is Peter Dinklage (In Bruges, Station Agent), but I tend to prefer non-star-studded movies as the focus is more on the story, rather than who is in it. Not suitable for small children, since the battle scenes may be too scary. Very cool special effects and a very enjoyable movie!

The Visitor

At last, a really good movie! (This is an American, English speaking movie). Stars Richard Jenkins as a stale, lonely college professor whose life gets spiced up when he returns to his second home in NYC only to find a couple of illegal aliens living in his apartment! Jenkins allows them to stay and winds up truly enjoying their company. Tarek, from Syria, has an infectious smile and teaches Jenkins how to play African drums. Tarek’s wife, from Senegal, is a bit more reserved. Unfortunately, one of the aliens gets caught by INS and winds up in a detention center, and Jenkins does what he can to help out. Enter Tarek’s beautiful mother. This is an excellent movie, though the ending was a bit sad. Realistic, I suppose, but not what I was hoping for. I definitely recommend it.

What Happens in Vegas…

Well, if you saw the previews, you saw the whole movie. I was hoping there would be some more funny parts, but everything was already shown in the “trailers”. It has really gotten to the point where I close my eyes and hum during the previews, because I would rather be surprised, and not have the entire story given away! Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher meet in Vegas, wake up married to each other, and after agreeing to divorce, hit the $3mil jackpot in a slot machine. Dweezil Zappa as a fed up judge, sentences them to “six months of hard marriage”. Obviously, while trying to drive each other crazy, they fall for each other. Queen Latifah plays the court appointed marriage counselor. Too many dumb and over the top ploys against each other. It just wasn't that funny. Wait for the DVD…

Iron Man

This was a fun guilty pleasure. You know the story: Robert Downey Jr., after being held captive in Afghanistan and forced to create a missile, instead creates a cool suit that withstands fire power and helps him escape. More improved cool suits follow along with some double crossing and adventure. Also stars Jeff Bridges and Gwyneth Paltrow. We enjoyed the special effects and the gratuitous violence. As I said, a fun, guilty pleasure.

Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

Much lewder, cruder and even more vulgar than the original. Much more female nudity too. Of course Jim loved it. Me, not so much. Harold and Kumar get arrested on an airplane and get sent to Guantanamo Bay Prison. The movie takes a lot of much deserved cracks at Homeland Security. They wind up traveling across the South and, while dispelling the stereotypes about Koreans and Indians, they wind up reinforcing stereotypes of every other race and culture along the way. OK, we didn’t get the joke that was supposed to be insulting to blacks, about pouring out grape soda onto the street, much to the dismay of the stereotyped black folks. Could someone explain this one to us? I did laugh out loud a few times, but mostly I was cringing at how lewd it was. As I said, Jim loved it… I loved the first movie, (OK, except for 2 REALLY gross parts, yeah, the girls in the bathroom and the puss bursting guy), but the rest of it was side-splitting and stereotype busting fun. As I said, this sequel one makes fun of all white people, Jews, and everyone in Alabama (and the rest of the South), and blacks too, though I didn’t get the joke. Anyway, more of an immature guy movie… Not so much enjoyable for girls…

Priceless (Hors de Prix)

I wanted so much for this to be a modern day Breakfast At Tiffany’s (after all, my dog is named after Audrey Hepburn!!). Well this French movie with subtitles stars Audrey Tautou (Amelie, Da Vinci Code) as more of a blood sucking vulture, instead of a mere gold-digger. It starts out with much promise, very cute and snappy, as she mistakenly sleeps with a hotel worker, thinking he is a rich suitor. Well much like the beloved classic, the two social climbers fall for each other, eventually. I really did enjoy this movie, but my expectations were too high! After the cute & snappy beginning, it sours a bit when you realize just how greedy Audrey Tautou’s character really is. The male social climber, who has much higher morals (which leads you to wonder what he sees in the blood sucking vulture) is only going along for the ride to win the girl’s heart. I wound up being sickened by the lifestyles of the rich and not so famous. But it really was an enjoyable movie; it just wasn’t the wonderful future classic I was hoping it to be.

Nim’s Island

Really cute story of a girl and her Dad living on a private island. The girl (Abigail Breslin, from Little Miss Sunshine- GREAT movie!) idolizes her favorite adventure writer (Jodie Foster). When Dad (Gerald Butler – so hot! - from the "300" movie) doesn’t return from a boat trip, the girl enlists her favorite adventure writer to help her. Too bad Jodie Foster’s character is OCD and agoraphobic! Very cute adventure type story, and slightly reminiscent of Home Alone when the boy has to scare away bad guys. I omitted a sentence here - I don't like to give away too much! From the previews, I had the impression the island animals speak. They don’t. The lizard may groan and even scream at times, but the movie is not as “cutesy” as I expected it to be. I loved it, and kids and grownups of all ages should as well!