Movie Round Up...

I spent yesterday feeling ill so today I can't really come with anything worthwhile to muse on so I figured I'd just have some fun and give you my movie round up on what I've seen lately - the hits and the misses and the in-betweens...

Herbie:Fully Loaded - Fun Family movie. Went with my girls and enjoyed it, especially since this will probably be the last G-rated Lohan movie they'll get to see since falling in love with her back in Freaky Friday. Yes, it was rather unrealistic - obviously, a bug isn't going to win a NASCAR race but the movie still had me smiling and the relationships kept me watching. Can't ask for much more out of it!

War of the Worlds - What a waste of two movie tickets! I was mortified that even after reading Anthony's scathing review at Cinerant I still went and saw this atrocious thing. It's a film devoid of humanity. Instead of a film that had people banding together to help one another in a time of crisis (see Independance Day), the film was dominated by lunatics and mob scenes and an anti-hero who spent the entire movie running away. I could go on and on about why this movie is worse than just your run of the mill bad movie because of being completely devoid of true compassion and care - something that does distinguish us from mere animals.

Willy Wonka - I was a little worried about the "weird" Willy Wonka and while I think that Tim Burton kept us from the heart and emotion this film might have brought out in us (I only got to the point of tearing up, rather than sobbing) it still was an amazing rendition of the classic tale. I loved the new oompa loompa songs, enjoyed the way it was edited to tell the story, and liked seeing more of Willy Wonka and how he became the man he was. I enjoyed the film immensely and thought they actually tamed down some of what bothered me in the original version. A definite hit.

A Love Song for Bobby Long - Rent this movie! There is some language so be warned but wow, what an amazing movie and John Travolta has truly won my respect with his performance as Bobby Long. Set in New Orleans, this is a visually stunning film with intriguing characters and a story you are dropped into. At the end, not all of your questions are even answered, yet it doesn't really matter. I am surprised I did not hear more about this movie. I rented it because of Scarlett Johanssen being in it (and I am typically impressed with her)so was taken aback with how much I really liked it.

Million Dollar Baby- I'll give Clint Eastwood this - it's shot beautifully - I love the way he works with composition and light to create beautiful images. I'm not a boxing gal but I was interested in the story and the relationships. But please! Other than it being well-acted (and it was) it was (IMHO) grossly overrated for what it was. The only thing thing spectacular about it was that it was controversial - and I guess that's what wins you Oscars nowadays. I could go on and on about how flat and hollow their whole "right-to-die" argument was anyway, but suffice it to say, it wasn't that great a movie anyway.

Are We There Yet? - Is it over yet? Bad, Bad, and Bad.

Man of the House - Not too bad - not great either, by any stretch of the imagination. But I got through the movie without groaning in disgust and actually laughed a couple of times. I enjoy Tommy Lee Jones and it's a decent movie. Worth the rental fee at least...not really the movie tickets:-)

Hide and Seek - Bizarre movie. I'd have to probably spend more time than it's worth trying to figure out why I didn't really like this movie. I think because it was just psychologically off and I felt that the ending was a cheat. Tick me off in a movie and I tend to write it off which is why I can't seem to review it very well and explain my reasons better.

Hitch - on DVD - go rent it if you haven't seen it. I really enjoyed this movie.

On tap for tonight...The Upside of Anger...we'll see:-)