Gone Baby Gone review

When I sat down to watch this movie, I was hoping for an intense mystery movie about a search for a little girl. I can't give much commentary about this movie, because I turned it off about a half-hour into it. The language in this movie is very rough, and probably realistic. Although I was interested in this movie at first, the language just became too much of a distraction to me and I ended up opting to turn the whole thing off. Now, granted the writers and director were probably trying to show the reality of the street language. However, I don't like it when language seems to be written into a script just to merit a "R" rating. Maybe that wasn't the case, but I just found the foul language too distracting from the actual storyline to actually finish the movie. Well - isn't that real life, you say? Maybe it is, but I generally don't hang out in places where that type of language is used to that degree. It is not like I never heard foul words like this movie contained, it was just a choice to not intentionally choose to hear foul words in a movie that didn't necessarily need them to convey a story. This could have been a good movie (and maybe it turned out to be). I don't think I'll ever find out.

G.I. Joe : Rise of the Cobra Review

What a disappointment! I am sad to say I TRIED (key-work is tried) to watch this movie after watching the previews and being very fond of the toy in the 80s, and had to turn off this movie only a half-hour into the storyline. The acting is bad, the storyline is almost non-existent, and the CGI special effects almost seem like the whole thing is a giant video game. As I stated, I really enjoyed this toy when I was younger and had high hopes for the live-action movie. Maybe that was my problem. I had "high hopes". I was pleasantly surprised with the first Transformers movie and thought that this might follow in the robot movie's footsteps. However, after watching a sad half-hour of it, I realized that wouldn't be the case. It seemed the actors and their lines were over-the-top cheesy and the special effects seemed to be so overdone that it appeared the producer/writers may have been throwing in overblown special effects to make up for the pathetic storyline and the lack of good acting. I'm sorry, but I have to say SAVE TWO HOURS OF YOUR LIFE AND SKIP THIS MOVIE!! There - I said it. I would have liked to give this movie a higher rating, but I found it too sad to put a positive spin on it at all. Watch the cartoon movie if you long for a movie about this toy.

Notting Hill review

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope all my readers have had a great chance to eat some turkey, enjoy time with friends and family, and reflect on all the blessings we have been given.

While visiting family this week, I happened to sit down and watch Notting Hill with them. I personally like Hugh Grant's acting a little more than Julia Roberts but must say this movie was a pleasant romantic drama/comedy about a movie actress (Julia) who falls for a simple bookshop owner. I'm not positive this would be considered a comedy or just a romantic drama with some funny moments - but it still seemed to work well. Both Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant were very good at playing their roles, and they were supported by several very talented actors/actresses who made the whole story work really well. Although I don't think this was as good a movie for Hugh Grant as Two Weeks Notice, I do think he played his part well and it made for a good fairy-tale story about two people who have great chemistry together. There are a few off-color jokes throughout the story, but overall I think this was a very well-made and funny story that makes for a great overall movie. Two thumbs up.

Entertainment & Escapism

I was reading "The Simple Dollar" blog this morning and came upon a great post that I highly recommend. It is:
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/11/08/what-is-escapism-how-does-it-cost-me/ .
If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you do before continuing my discussion below.

I would like to talk about it on my own blog in fact. Basically Trent (author of The Simple Dollar blog) talks about the difference between entertainment and escapism. I found the contrast very interesting and it made me think about my own media habits. Do I watch movies, listen to good music and play video games just to escape reality? Or are these ways for me to relax and have some fun in life without necessarily trying to escape reality? I believe personally, that I waffle sometimes between one and the other. I do enjoy movie, games, and good music but I think that the key to know if I am drifting from edifying entertainment into mindless escapism is one question: Am I trying to fill a void in my life with this activity? Every time I choose to sit down and invest time in a game, movie or listening to music I have to look at the fruit of the time spent. If I come away from the time, feeling more lonely, saddened and/or purposeless - that is a red flag that I have crossed into the land of escapism via entertainment. However, if after the time I feel like I've gained perspective or grown in my understanding of others and can then continue normal life-duties with a new perspective - I think that is well within the realm of edifying entertainment. Also, being a Christian I need to ask myself - is this something that I can glorify God doing/watching/listening to? Entertainment should never be used to fill a void. It does it poorly when used for that purpose. What entertainment can be useful for is to help bond with other people in your life, and keep your mind actively evaluating things instead of dwelling on the negatives in your life. I am a firm believer that you should never turn your brain off while allowing media to be seen or heard in your life (which is very prevelant in escapism). Everything listened to and watched should be evaluated and thought about. If the messages are agreeable - think about ways it could affect your own life, and if the messages are false/disagreeable you should be able to actively filter them from a solid worldview of Truth. In all these things, as a Christian I need to keep in mind what Paul says:

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. - Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV

Nights in the Rodanthe Review

Another Nicholas Sparks book makes it to the big screen. I decided to add this movie having seen 3 others movie adaption by this guy : 1. Message in a Bottle, 2. Notebook , and 3. A Walk to Remember. However, out of the four movies, I think this one was the lamest. This movie in many respects resembles "Message in a Bottle", but it came off a little more cheesy and formulaic. Basically the plot is Diane Lane's character is hosting a bed and breakfast in the Outer Banks, NC and Richard Gere's character comes to stay there to try to resolve some lawsuits he has with the family of someone he was a doctor for. During this time, he falls in love with Diane Lane's character and they have wonderful times at the beach, blah...blah...blah....BLAH. Ok, at this point (without giving away what happens) let me start to give my two cents - this movie is very formulaic and kind of boring. The character development just doesn't seem developed enough despite being well-acted and the plot is too simplistic. The movie is 1.5 hours, yet I think you can find better things to do with your time than to watch this movie. The overall messages conveyed from the movie are not very pro-marriage nor do they seem to accurately convey that love is committed in good times and bad, not just when you have butterflies in your stomach and are constantly day-dreaming about your lover. So my last words on this movie? Skip it.

The Scarlet Pimpernel Review

Due to my interest in Zorro, I noticed that Netflix recommended "The Scarlet Pimpernel" movie to me, so I added it to my queue and this weekend actually got around to watching it. Although the movie is about 2.5 hours, I found that I enjoyed the story and that the acting wasn't terrible. I think Jane Seymour is an excellent actress, and all in all, I thought this movie was pretty good. Basically the story is about an Englishman who is trying to save people from death during the French Revolution (I think). To do that, he (the Scarlet Pimpernel) must come up with a dual lifestyle much like Zorro, Batman or Superman in order to continue his job while remaining unsuspicious. To me this movie came off as a cross between "Pride and Prejudice" and "The Mask of Zorro". The first movie I'm not particularly fond of, while I love the Zorro movies. This movie had enough of the Zorro-like theme to keep my interest, but it had enough romance and fancy dancing to keep Chrystal's interest. So to sum it up - great movie. Out of 5 stars this movie wins a solid 4 in my book.