Inception

Awesome! Fantastic! Whoa! Holy Crap that movie blew my freaking mind! These were the statements that my brother and I made as we walked home from the movie theater. Our dad couldn't make it to the showing that we went to, so we both went back and took my dad the next night. It was just as good the second time through, not necessarily better the second time but great in a different way because you can watch for the details that you missed the first time. The problem with reviewing this movie is that you don't want to give to much away.

Cobb is an extractor, someone who goes into dreams with people and takes information while there. The premise is that when you link two people together in a dream one person creates the physical space, the buildings and streets and stuff in the dream, and everyone else populates it with projections of their subconscious. Cobb and his team bring people into dreams and then steal valuable information from them. This is called extraction, the opposite of this, placing an idea in a person's subconscious, would be called inception.

So now you know basically what the movie is about. Get a team together and try to plant an idea that will stick. The movie is definitely confusing at first, you have no idea what the crap is happening. Stick with it and pay attention, I promise it will make more sense. Christopher Nolan is a gifted director and he will give you the information he wants to present not a moment before you need it. Pay attention and don't worry if you don't understand in the beginning a lot of things will be explained as you go on.

The characters were played beautifully. I am currently crushing big time on Joseph Gordon Levitt. Who knew he could play action, the little kid from Angels in the Outfield has definitely honed his acting chops. Leonardo DiCaprio has been a favorite of mine for a long long time, he had a remarkable ability to take on a character and translate emotion to the viewer. You see this best in a particularly painful memory for his character, your heart rips right out along with his. Ellen Page is feisty and determined in her role.

There were however a few things that bugged me in the movie though. The major issue for me was understanding the characters. Is it really to much to ask for people to enunciate while speaking, I mean it is you job. The worst person for this was Marion Cottilard, I know she is French but she won a freaking Oscar you would think she would know better. The only other real issue I had was a minor thing. There is a scene where they are being chased in the dream and the van is getting shot at, now they did not expect to be attacked I know, but seriously if you know its even a possibility shouldn't you dream up a bullet proof vehicle.

If you have not seen this movie, please step away from the computer and grab your keys. It is a must see. You should definitely shell out the money to see it on the big screen because it was made to surround the viewer, the effects will not envelope and entrance you as well when you rent it. Get ready for excitement, there is a scene where the gravity of the place is shifting while two people fight that may be the best fight sequence I have ever seen. If you liked the Matrix prepare to fall in love with Inception. If you thought the Matrix was over hyped and kinda dumb, prepare to thank your lucky stars that a far superior movie will now be the talk of geeks everywhere. Run, don't walk, to your nearest theater and get your ticket, you won't regret it a single dime.

Sex and the City 2

It is hard for me to differentiate my feeling for this movie from my feelings about how I watched this movie. I had a blast watching this. I had great company (thank you Mrs. Hamilton), and we watched it in the middle of the night. It was like a high school sleep over, except instead of parents asleep in the next room it was husband asleep in the next room. I felt so rebellious and young. All that being said I cannot actually say that I liked this movie.

It started out well, with some SATC frivolity that viewers know and love. It was nice to see the characters that we have come to care about still thriving and fabulous to see Stanford get his day. Then we start to introduce the necessary problems that are required to make a plot. Charlotte is learning that it is hard to be a mom and not willing to admit it due to her drive to appear perfect. Carrie is not thrilled with her husband's desire to stay in at night. Miranda has a boss that hates her. All of these seemingly trivial items are what would typically be solved in a 30 minute SATC episode on HBO. But we are in a full length picture here people, we have to do something more.

This is where I think that lost us. They went to freaking Abu Dhabi, how could they not lose us. The introduction of this trip was very out of the blue, and then here we are 4 girls in the lap of luxury in the desert. While it was kind of fun to see the heights of luxury that they got to embellish in, it was a little ridiculous. The whole thing felt like an ad for tourism to the UAE. Each lady got their own fully section of a plane, and when they got to the airport each lady had a car waiting for them. Thats right 4 cars to drive 4 ladies from a hotel to an airport. Let's stop for a minute here, I am not the most eco conscious person that you will meet, but lets show a little restraint and responsibility here. BP is not flooding our ocean's with oil because they insist on drilling for something we don't need. Now I know the oil spill hadn't occurred yet when this film was shooting, but seriously a little bit of respect for mother nature couldn't hurt. The hotel suite they are in comes with full butler service, one butler per person. It's ridiculous.

Now I know what you are thinking, isn't Abu Dhabi a very conservative place? You would be right. Aren't these women very liberal women? You would also be right. While it may be true that the middle east is evolving and accepting more and more western practice, it is still a country with very strict rules and governance. The breaking of these rules with very little regard for the people who made them was upsetting to me. While Miranda read up on and practiced the laws of the nation, they were flouted by the other women. None so much as by Samantha. Now the movie is called Sex and the City so it is not surprising that sex does come up in the film. But flouting the local religion and laws is inexcusable and I was not surprised at all by the turn of events that occurred after Samantha hooked up with a complete stranger on the beach. The movie at first seemed to say come visit the UAE it is very nice and your western ways will be ok here, then it said don't come here people are judgmental and the men will harass you. Make up your mind and make your point. Don't waver like that, you just look dumb.

The film wrapped itself up nicely everyone is happy again. Truth be told the only person I liked in this movie was Miranda. She was the calm to every one else's storm. Charlotte just got on my nerves, you don't get to complain about how hard it is to be a mom when you don't have a job and you have a full time nanny. Samantha is just kind of a farce of herself in this film, at some point she will have to grow up. Carrie is a nag of a wife, and a weak person, I just wanted to shake her and say get over yourself.

Everyone said this movie was bad, but I watched it anyway. I am glad I did. There were a few great moments that I would have been sad to miss. I had a blast watching the film and got to feel like a high school girl again. Ladies if you must see this one please do not drag any men into the process of watching it. Trust me, this is not one to stand your ground on. See it with some gal pals, and preferably with some fruity frozen adult beverages.

The Calm of Cooking

This weekend has been a rough one in my household. We lost our dog of 13 years to a particularly nasty cancer. There wasn't a lot we could do for her, she was not digesting food and did not even have the energy to hold her head up for extended periods of time. I am not the kind of person that can sit around and watch people suffer, I have to fix things. I try to find the right words to help heal a heart, or the right gift to lift spirits. I am not good at seeing emotions and just allowing them to be unless they are happy emotions. The thing is that people need to have time to be sad and to embrace the mourning process. Please don't get me wrong I too am feeling all the hurt but I have always preferred to mourn in solitude. I have been distracting myself through preparing food.

Last night I went to the Commissary (I am staying with my parents on a military base and for those of you not in the know that is what we call the community grocery store) and they had croissants on sale. I bought 4 croissants and a pound of end meat chicken from the deli, I also got a jalapeno and a shallot. All this for less than $4, they may not have great selection but the prices cant be beat.

I used the chicken along with some left over rotisserie chicken to make a chicken salad. Tip for the quick cook, rotisserie chicken is great for chicken salad. Just let it cool off and you can really get every last piece of chicken off of the bone with very little difficulty and no burning of the fingers. I mixed the chicken with some mayo, mustard and sweet relish to make chicken salad. Usually I like to add a little mango chutney and curry power to chicken salad, and to give it some texture I use almonds, dried apricots and grapes. I did not have great access to ingredients so i left the salad with just chicken and dressing, but I did add some flavor with some Tony Cachere's seasoning (I swear this stuff would even taste good on ice cream) and some cumin. The cumin added depth to the flavor of the chicken salad and I really liked what it became.

The shallot, the jalapeno (minus the seeds and veins because my mom doesnt love spicy) went into my food processor with an avocado and 1 and a half small tomatoes. A little splash of lemon juice and a few spins in the food processor yielded fairly edible guacamole. I wasn't too thrilled with the dip, but my mom swears it is the best she has ever had. I definitely recommend utilizing the full spice of the jalapeno when making guac, the avocado is so creamy that it can stand up to the heat really well. I also forgot the lemon juice (lime juice would work just as well if not better) until the end and it turned an interesting shade of brown. The acid in the lemon juice keeps the avocado from oxidizing and will keep it that nice green color. I am not sure that I love the guac from the food processor, it was too homogenous. One of the great things about guac is the chunks of avocado, which even though I am allergic to I still find almost irresistible. So lesson learned, take the extra time and dice your peppers and onions so that you don't need the food processor. Also I liked using the shallot instead of a regular onion, I am not a fan of raw onions and the shallot still gave that onion flavor without hitting you in the face with it.

What I actually enjoyed almost as much as the cooking was setting the table for the meal. I put my croissants in a wicker bread basket, and the salad in a bowl. I sliced some tomatoes and ripped up some lettuce and left that on a plate and put it all on our lazy Susan. It was build your own chicken salad sandwich. For mine I chose sliced tomatoes with salt and pepper and then a big mound of salad. Delicious.

Dessert may have been my favorite part of this meal. I made strawberry shortcakes, but again I made them to be assembled at the table. Strawberries are in season here in Germany so we had a ton of them in the house. Quarter your strawberries, place them in a nice bowl and sprinkle them with just a hint of sugar. Place the bowl in the fridge and the strawberries will macerate, this just mean that their juices start to flow. It concentrates the flavor of the berry and gives them a nice sauce. I am not a believer in shortcakes on those prepackaged little cake things. I like mine on a biscuit. I know you think this sounds strange, but trust me. Get some flaky biscuits in the refrigerated section of the grocery store, you know the kind that you can peel off in layers. In a bowl place a thin layer of biscuit, then top with a few strawberries. Dont use to many here, three or four pieces at most. Repeat layering biscuit and berries until you reach the top of the biscuit. You want at least 2 sections of strawberries in the middle of your biscuit, preferable 3 sections. Here comes the weird part. I know you are thinking, hey lady the biscuit was weird enough, but trust me again here. Take some cream, like the kind you put in your coffee. Please, for your heart, dont use heavy cream here, half and half or whole milk will do nicely. Pour about an ounce of cream over your biscuit. Top with a generous spoonful of berries, and a dollop of whipped cream if you are so inclined, and you have a tasty shortcake that itsnt too sweet.

Hope you try some of these things in your culinary adventures this summer. Definitely take advantage of in season fruit like strawberries, the flavor cannot be beat.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 is a stand out this summer. As a general rule sequels are worse than the original. Additionally three-quils are usually abysmal. This summer, however, we have a few rule breakers. Eclipse was phenomenal more on that one to come after I see it a second time tomorrow. Toy Story 3 was perhaps even better than the first one.

The story goes like this: Andy is all grown up now and heading to college. He has to decide what to do with his old toys. Through a series of movie misunderstandings the toys end up at Sunnyvale Day Care center. Here we meet some really fun new toys, like Ken. Sunnyvale turns out not to be the utopia everyone thought it would be so they have to escape from there and they end up at a dump. After some terrifying dump adventures they make their way back towards Andy's house. Sounds pretty basic right?

The beauty of this story lies in letting go. I truly believe that this story was made for a more mature audience. The original toy story debuted 15 years ago and this movie was definitely intended for those early viewers. We have grown up, our days are no longer filled with creating complex stories for our toys to act out. We have magazines and iphones and texting to occupy ourselves. It is time to let go of our old selves and embrace maturity. It is so easy to wax nostalgic about the easy times, before we got involved in a thousand extra-curricular activities and forgot about our inanimate best friends.

Parents should use caution when taking children to this movie. The Pixar label does not always indicate a movie for children. Younger children will enjoy the colors and the cartoons and may laugh at some of the physical comedy. Children who are more aware may be frightened by a good portion of this film. A young boy sitting behind me in the theater was quite petrified and wanted to leave the theater. There is a very creepy baby doll, monkey and clown that quite honestly even freaked me out a little. Parents should also know that the end of this film will make you cry. I literally boohooed like a little girl at the film's conclusion. But don't get me wrong here, if you like the toy story genre this film is for you. The story feels authentic and the scenes are fantastically created. I think I liked it even better than the first film, and certainly better than the second.

Fame

First let me please apologize to all two of you follow this blog. The end of the school year got a little crazy and honestly there were not very movies that I was excited to go see. Nothing really stands out in my mind as I am sitting here trying to come up with movies I have seen recently that deserve any kind of mention in the blog-o-sphere. I did however just finish watching a truly bad movie that I fell I must warn you about.

The 2009 version of Fame leaves a lot to be desired. Faithful followers will recall that I was urged to start this blog after watching a truly bad movie. I fell compelled yet again to mount up on my soapbox and spread the warning against this crime against bad movies.

Followers will also remember that I am a fan of "bad" movies, the movies that are predictable and cheesy and written to prey on the minds of teenage girls (and a 26 year old girl). Perhaps thats why I was drawn to Fame. It had all the makings of a truly great bad movie:

high school full of extraordinary students - check

singing and dancing - check

complicated yet predictable plot - check

a powerful theme song - check

What Fame lacked was the ability to cohesively tell any kind of story. It left you without any real victories. At least when I watch Step Up 2 : The Streets I get an ending that satisfies. They win the battle and gain the respect of the snooty dance school they go to - everyone celebrate and feel good. The end of Fame showed a few students graduate from high school. Thats seriously it. There were so many characters that it was virtually impossible to connect to any one person. Of the characters that actually achieved something, none of them were people you actually got to know through the film. The characters you actually really invested in stood on a stage at the end of the movie having no jobs coming and no real achievement through the 4 years that the movie tried to show you in under 2 hours.

One exception was the very stereotypical urban black man, Malik. His father ran out on them, mom works 3 jobs, sister was shot and killed in a drive by. He learns to accept the things that have happened to him and embrace them to become a better actor and rapper. Or at least thats what we are supposed to believe because his teacher is smiling when he raps near the end. Seriously Hollywood, aren't you tired of that. Why couldn't the kid with the rough life be the white kid, why couldn't his struggles exist with a father at home, why do you insist on perpetuating a stereotype that only teaches young people to accept it. Why not push the next generation of this country to not make judgments based on the color of a persons skin but on the caliber of their soul. Why do you refuse to let us out of our boxes, we are pushing on the walls and screaming for freedom yet you continue to pigeon hole our generation. My only solace is that it appears that very few people have seen this piece of dribble that you call a film. The generation of Americans that is rising up as I type this will hopefully continue to push and scream for new definitions of itself. Black doesnt equal fatherless, hispanic doesnt equal poor, and white doesnt equal entitlement. Quit trying to teach us that it does.

Remember Me

OK OK, you got me, I will admit it. I did go see this movie because Robert Pattinson is in it. Wait a second before you judge me though. I don't like Pattinson in Twilight, he is better than his insipid costar sure, but I am still not thrilled with him in these films. I did like him as Cedric Diggory though, and there are a few moments in Twilight where you see that he may have some depth as an actor. In this film he plays Tyler Hawkins, brooding poet living in a crappy New York apartment and chain smoking his way through life. No one does brooding quite like Robert Pattinson.

The rest of the cast is phenomenal. Pierce Brosnan plays Charles Hawkins, Tyler's distant business minded father. The always classy Lena Olin plays Diane Hirsch, Tyler's remarried and loving mother. Emilie de Ravin plays Alysa "Allie" Craig a college student aspiring to be a social worker specializing in criminal justice. Chris Cooper plays Sgt. Neil Craig, Alysa's overbearing father and investigator for the NYPD. Finally we have relative newcomer Ruby Jerins who plays Caroline Hawkins, Tyler's adorable little sister. Ruby was divine in this film and I hope to see her get more traction as an actress from this role.

The film follows the Hawkins family and the Craig family through a summer in New York, focusing primarily on Tyler and Allie. The movie starts on a NY subway platform where an 11 year old Allie is waiting for a train with her mother. As the train approaches two young men pull guns and take the mother's purse. They get on the train to leave but when the doors open one last time the shoot the mother and leave with the departing train. We first meet the Hawkins family at a graveside. We find out later that it is Tyler's older brother who died on his 22nd birthday.

The complexities of grieving family are something that could be endlessly studied. No two people grieve in the same way. When you get together more people all grieving the same thing but in different ways, things can get very tense. Some people try to hide from their grief, some embrace it and move on, some languish in their grief never willing to heal. Tyler and Allie find each other through interesting circumstances, but what I think bonds them is that they have both suffered great losses.

The film goes through the typical romantic comedy style interactions for Allie and Tyler. They meet cute, go on a clever first date with an activity aside from dinner. They flirt, the make out and they fight and break up. All of this you should expect. This movie is good for the parts of the film outside of this relationship. True, there are two incredibly hot make out sessions that are fast forward-to-the-good-part worthy. The films true charms, however, are in the little things outside of the main romance. Ruby Jerins portrays the artsy little sister with true panache. She makes you wish this little girl were real so that you could be her friend and mentor. If you watch this movie and don't want to crawl into the screen and give this little girl a hug and ask her about her drawings you must really dislike children.

Film watchers be warned, this movie requires a pack of tissues, it is not the stuff of summer romance that you might expect. Tyler's legal troubles that develop through the movie lead him to a fate that none could have predicted as Allie's father's world is turned upside down. The end of the movie is beautiful in the pain that in inflicts, you never see it coming, just like the real event.

Inglorious Basterds

I have already mentioned that I wanted to see the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars, it should be noted that I failed miserably. I managed to see 3 out of 10. I will eventually see most of them, but 10 is a big number. I did manage to see Inglorious Basterds before the awards show, and I am tremendously glad that I did. I wasn't sure how I felt about this movie going into it. I had heard that is was incredibly violent, and knowing Quentin Tarantino movies I didn't doubt this. I also thought that this would be a very sad movie, you don't often go to a WWII film and laugh your way through it. I watched this one because my roommate wanted to, and I ended up loving it.

The title of the film refers to a group of Jewish-American soldiers who tromp through Germany killing and scalping Nazis. This group is led by Leiutenant Aldo Raine, played by the brilliant Brad Pitt, a soldier from Tennessee. The Basterds are very good at what they do and their name is soon feared by all Nazi soldiers. The Basterds are a very violent group, and much of the film's gross out moments come when they are on the screen. The scalping, while disgusting, was not too bloody for me, the chicken, to watch. I did turn away when they took a bat to a Nazi's head but apparently it wasn't too terrible to watch. Another name among the Basterds is BJ Novak from The Office. His character doesn't talk much, but it was interesting to see him play someone very serious and stoic.

While the title of the film would indicate that the story is about these Basterds, I would have to say that the movie is only half about them. The rest of the movie is taken up by two brilliantly portrayed nemeses. Christoph Waltz won an Oscar for his role in this film as Colonol Hans Landa of the Third Reich. Col. Landa is known as the Jew Hunter among his peers, and Waltz does a stunning job of bringing out this man's true brilliance and creepiness at the same time. I truly hated this man while watching this film, and while I guess that is probably not hard to do while playing a Nazi I really believe that Waltz took it to another level. His nemesis is Shoshanna Dreyfus played by Melanie Laurent.

Col. Landa and Shoshanna first encounter each other in the dairy region of France when Landa slaughters her family and she narrowly escapes. This is our first glimpse of the relentless heartlessness of Landa. Shoshanna picks her life back up in Paris where she runs a relatively small cinema. Landa and Shoshanna are reintroduced when the Third Reich decides to hold a movie premiere at Shoshanna's theater and Landa is in charge of the security. The brilliance of these two actors is highlighted in a cafe scene where Landa goes on and on about putting creme on Shoshanna's apple strudel. The scene is so incredibly tense, you sit on your edge the whole time, yet really they are just talking about dessert.

The movie comes to a peak as we near the movie premiere. The movie is about Frederick Zoller a sniper that held down a town for the Nazis single handedly. Frederick, who plays himself in the movie called Nation's Pride, falls for Shoshanna. It is his idea to have the premiere at her cinema. The Basterds hear about the premiere from a prominent German actress, Bridget von Hammersmark played by Diane Kruger, who has turned against the Third Reich. When they hear that Hitler himself will be at the premiers the Basterds come up with a plan. The Basterds are going to go into the premiere with Bridget and with tons of explosives strapped to their ankles.

What the Basterds, and the Third Reich, don't know is that Shoshanna has devised her own plan for taking out the people in the theater. Shoshanna and her projectionist have a large collection of film as you would expect a theater to have. The upside for them is that at this time in history film is one of the most flammable items on the planet. They have enough to burn the theater to the ground.

I won't tell you how the whole things comes to an end because I really want you to see it. If you don't mind a little blood and a lot of tension, you will love this film. It's a good story, everyone loves to hate the Nazis. Brad Pitt is always talented, and you will definitely want to hear him try to speak Italian with his Tennessee accent. There is enough humor in this film to break up the tension and find that perfect balance of action and comedy.

Star Trek

I wanted to see this movie when it was in theaters. Somehow I never got around to it. I wanted to see it when it was at the discount theaters, again I didn't get around to it. I finally rented it this weekend. While I would not consider myself a Trekkie, I have always been a Star Trek fan. I usually like the movies, and I regularly watched The Next Generation series on TV. I am a little young to have watched the original series on TV, but my parents made sure we saw the movies.

This movie was good not great. For those few of you who may not be in the know, this is an origins story with a twist. It shows you how the original characters from the series came together to man the Starship Enterprise, well how they would have come together if it had happened in an alternate universe. For those of you who are closer in age to my generation you may find some of this movie boring or confusing since you are probably not familiar with the original cast. Sure you have heard the phrase "Beam me up Scottie" a lot of times, and you may be cool enough to do the Vulcan farewell, but you don't really know much more than that. For this group of people this movie is more about the action and adventure of deep space travel.

The story is that a Romulan man named Nero has traveled back in time to try to prevent a tragedy to his people. He personally holds Spock responsible. Nero kills Kirk's father, so Kirk grows up a rebel with no respect for Star Fleet. He still ends up joining but winds up as a stowaway on the Enterprise's first voyage instead of captaining it. The Enterprise pursues Nero across space to try to stop him from destroying Earth. It's very entertaining. There are lots of phasers, hand to hand combat and explosions. I definitely think that you non-Trekkies out there would enjoy this movie.

For those of you that do know and love the original Star Trek cast then this movie is a must see. It's very witty, there are lots of jokes that reference the original series, but they are somewhat subtle. Directed by JJ Abrams this film definitely captures the excitement from the original series in an updated way. I think the most exciting part of the film was seeing Leonard Nimoy comprise his original role as Spock. He still has what it takes. The scene where future Spock meets current Spock was laugh out loud funny. Major points go to Zachary Quinto for pulling off Spock in a manner that I think old Leo himself was impressed by. Young Sulu, Chekhov and Scottie are near perfection. One of my favorite lines in a Star Trek movie is said by Checkhov: "Take me to your nuclear wessels." While they don't use this line exactly there is a scene or two of Chekhov trying to say the letter V.

So in the end I say definitely watch this one. It's a little long, so it is probably perfect for a rainy Saturday. I wouldn't tell you to run out and buy it, it's not the kind of movie you watch over and over. If you haven't seen it yet, and you like the idea of Star Trek even a little bit, put this version on your list of rainy day movies.

When In Rome

I cannot tell a lie. This movie looked really bad, really really bad. I have a thing for bad movies. You know the ones I am talking about. The movies that take things too far, the ones where the cheese factor is sky high. I actually like the sequels to movies that were already pretty cheesy. I liked Step Up and Step Up 2: The Streets. I fully intend to watch the fourth Cutting Edge movie that will be premiering on ABC Family in the next few weeks. Please don't think that I don't know the difference between good movies that normal people enjoy and the awesomely terrible movies that I get a kick out of. I thought this movie would fall into the latter category, but I was surprised to find out that it did not.

The movie stars Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. Kristen has a impeccable sense of comedic timing. I haven't ever seen Veronica Mars but it is on my list of shows to watch now because of her. Josh Duhamel is not know for his comedic abilities, he has starred more in action style shows and movies. He does a heck of a job in this film though. Kristen plays Beth a curator of the Guggenheim. She loves her job, she is not married nor in a serious relationship. She says that when she finds someone that she loves more than her job she will settle down. Josh plays Nick a former pro-football player who is now a sports photographer.

The two meet at a wedding in Rome. They bond over their shared horror at the bride and groom's impetuousness. A misconception leads Beth to become frustrated with love. She climbs into the fountain of love, conveniently located right outside the reception hall, and pulls out some coins. When she returns to New York she finds that several men have fallen head over heels in love with her. Her paramores are played by Will Arnett (Arrested Development), Dax Shephard and John Heder (Napoleon's Dynamite). These gentlemen are hilarious.

I won't go as far as to call this movie a great movie. It was entertaining. I was funny. The ending is predictable, but enjoyable. If you like romantic comedies, you will like this one. Light and frothy, with some beautiful scenes of Italy thrown in. Rent it for a ladies night, and enjoy the eye candy that is Josh Duhamel.

Valentine's Day

Needless to say I was really really excited to see this movie. Let's start with the all-star cast, everyone who's anyone was in this movie. OK, that may be an overstatement, but there were a ton of fabulous people in this movie. Jennifer Garner is fantastic in almost everything. We will forgive her for Elektra and Catch and Release. Bradley Cooper, also from Alias, is always endearing. Taylor Lautner is humble and cute, even with his shirt on. Taylor Swift is always good for bringing a smile and laugh. Ashton Kutcher is charming in almost everything he does. Eric Dane truly is McSteamy even while not playing a surgeon. Hector Elizando is a name you may not recognize as easily, but I fell in love with him as a bodyguard in The Princess Diaries. The last big name I will mention needs no introduction, Julia Roberts will pull me to a theater almost every time.

While this movie did indeed have a lot of big names to reel in an audience, it had to keep that audience once they had taken the bait. The movie follows about a billion characters through Valentine's Day in Los Angeles. If you have seen Love Actually or He's Just Not That Into You, then you know the type of movie I am talking about. The characters are all related in various ways and the story hops from person to person. The characters range from an adult phone entertainer to an elementary school student in love with his teacher.

While I am a sucker for a love story, I liked this movie more for the comedy than for the moments when couples finally get together. Several of my favorite moments came from the film making reference to the plethora of films and shows that its cast has starred in. My favorite story line was that of the elementary school boy, Edison. I won't tell you any more than that because I want you to watch it and love it like I did. I will also tell you to stay for the credits, my favorite single moment in the movie was actually in the outtakes and moments after the credits started rolling.

This movie is definitely one that can be rented, it was fun to see in the theater but if you haven't seen it yet go ahead and wait for the rental. Ladies, don't make your boyfriends watch this movie. It is a chick flick in every sense of the word, save this one for ladies night. It's not the kind of movie that changes history, or that really even means anything. It is fun and fluffy, watch and enjoy.

Avatar

To tell the truth I put off going to see this movie. It was so hyped up. People were painting their faces blue, they went to see the film over and over. I feared getting excited about the movie and then being let down when it didn't live up to the hype. To tell the truth this movie looked weird. The blue people looked a little strange to me. I hate watching people fall in love when I know one of them is lying, which I thought was the premise of this movie. It makes me uncomfortable and nervous waiting for that moment when the truth is out there, and it just sits there. To Avatar's credit, while this does happen in the movie, the movie is so much more than that.

The people that have called this movie visually stunning were not over-hyping it. It was one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. James Cameron has always been one of my favorite directors. (Can you say Titanic?) He definitely didn't disappoint with this futuristic epic love story. Everything you loved about Titanic is taken to new levels in Avatar, except that boys actually liked this movie. I call this an epic love story because in truth that's what it is. It's not your typical love story though. Sure boy meets girl and falls in love with her, but it's more than that. Boy meets girl and falls in love with an entire planet.

The story takes place on the planet Pandora. A large company has set up an operation on this planet to mine for a substance cleverly called unobtainium. There are three types of humans on the planet: company suits, mercenaries and scientists. The suits don't play much of a role in the movie, except that they are the reason everyone is there. The mercenaries are there to protect the operation from the indigenous people, the Na'vi, who don't like their planet being destroyed by mining. The scientists are there to study the planet and the aliens who inhabit it.

The cast is not heavy on big names. Sigourney Weaver plays the lead scientist who has formed a bond with the Na'vi people. Sam Worthington, a relative unknown, plays Jake a paraplegic ex-Marine who the entire story revolves around. Jake's twin brother, who dies before the movie begins, was a scientist who had planned to travel to Pandora. The movie's title comes from the real life Na'vi bodies who are controlled by human minds and who cost millions of dollars to create. The Na'vi bodies are mapped to specific human DNA sequences, since Jake is a twin he will fit the mold for his brother's Avatar. He knows nothing about science, the planet Pandora, the native language or the mission of the company. Once out and about in his Avatar on Pandora Jake is separated from his group. While out in the wilderness he meets the daughter of the local Na'vi tribe's leader. This chance encounter is what sets the story of Avatar in motion.

The planet Pandora is like nothing you have ever seen. The mountains float, the flowers glow, the animals have too many limbs and the people are blue. Much of the beginning of the movie is spent showing you scenes of this crazy beautiful planet. The colors and shapes jump off the screen, especially if you see this in 3-D. Once your eyes have feasted until completely over-sated on the scenery, you begin to settle in to the plot.

Jake petitions the tribe to let him live among them and learn their ways. Neytiri, played by the beautiful in blue Zoe Saldana, is charged with teaching Jake the ways of the Na'vi people. At this point you are started to be reminded of Pocahontas, but Cameron takes the story to the next level. The standard scenes that could be expected from this story line are escalated from routine to extraordinary due to the stunning background. By day Jake is with Neytiri learning to survive on this beautiful yet deadly planet, by night he is back at the company home base documenting his adventures. It is complicated to explain how this works, just trust me when I say it makes sense in the movie.

I don't want to give too much of the story away, so I will just tell you that tensions build and a battle ensues. I must say that this is one of the more exciting battles that has ever been on the silver screen. It rivals the Helm's Deep battle at the end of Two Towers. I didn't expect to fall for the plot line of this movie in the way I did. I expected it to be the same story that has been told before, but I found myself completely enchanted by all things Avatar. I think that is James Cameron's true gift; he takes a story that we have heard before yet he tells it in a way that keeps you completely riveted.

If you have the chance to see this one in the theaters I highly recommend it. If you can afford the few extra bucks, and you don't get motion sick, then I suggest going for the 3D version. It is not the 3D where crap seems to fly out at you from the screen and scared the bejeepers out of you. It really just enhances the depth of the movie visually, everything pops just a little bit more. There is a reason this movie is generating Oscar buzz. Give it a shot, if nothing else your eyes will love you for showing them something they have never seen before.

Up in the Air

I realized a few days ago that I had not seen any of the Oscar nominated movies. I probably won't see most of them, but there were a few on the list that sounded like movies I would enjoy. Yesterday was a snow day for me, a first since high school. There are in fact a few upsides to being a teacher. I decided to take advantage of my unexpected freedom and went to the movie theater. We decided to see Up in the Air and Sherlock Holmes. I know Sherlock is not on the Oscar list, but it still sounded pretty interesting.

Up in the Air is a story about a lot of things, but I think what it boils down to is a look at the life of the modern businessman. Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a corporate downsizer, his company comes in and conducts the exit interviews for companies who have to downsize. Essentially he fires people for a living. In order to do this he travels 270+ days out of the year. Through this lifestyle he has developed a philosophy that he lectures about, essentially teaching people to free themselves of all attachments.

There are two ladies that I would refer to as leading ladies in this film. They have both been nominated for the Supporting Actress category. Vera Farminga plays Alex, a fellow world traveler. She bonds with Ryan at a hotel bar while they compare company loyalty cards. Anna Kendrick plays Natalie a fellow downsizer who is trying to pitch the idea of firing people via video conference.

The film takes a quick but poignant look at life for the average person in the rough economy over the past couple of years. They had real people speaking after they have just been fired. From someone who has made the call to let people go in the past, it was definitely a difficult part of the film to watch. They try to make it light hearted by throwing in a few funny moments of the people being fired, but you never feel quite right laughing at people at their weakest.

The movie never really came to an end for me, I guess thats why its on Oscar movie. Maybe I am just not deep enough to get what the point of the movie was. What I took from it was that it is OK to form attachments with people, and its ok to just live a life free of commitments and attachments. Also I learned that a swivel suitcase is the only luggage to invest in, and it takes 35 minutes per flight to check bags and pick them back up.

I am glad I went to see this movie, I enjoyed it. There were some truly lovely moments, and to me a few great scenes can make a movie. Clooney can truly wear a pair of pants, even though he is way to old for me, it is still a pleasure to watch him on screen. Maybe you are deeper than me and will be able to appreciate the movie for its more artistic statements and the truth about life that it speaks to. I just enjoyed an interesting story about three people who live in a world that is relatively unknown to me.

Christmas Movies

The holiday season has come and gone. In the days since Thanksgiving I have spent nearly every waking moment trying to get my students to pass my class. This has not left a lot of time for movie going or for blogging, I dont think I have seen a new movie in quite some time. Do not fear young reader, I got movie theater gift cards for Christmas and they will not go to waste.

I did want to tell you a little about my favorite Christmas movies, the ones that are traditions in my family and the ones that I have come to love on my own. My list of top 10 Christmas movies is as follows: The Muppet Christmas Carol, The Holiday, Love Actually, Elf, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street (1990s Version), It's a Wonderful Life, Eloise at Christmastime, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, The Santa Clause

I dont think I could rank these in any kind of order, it would be like apples and oranges, I like them for different reasons, no two movies are quiet the same. I will tell you why I love them though, well at least the ones that may seem a little odd.

The Muppet Christmas Carol: Marley was dead to begin with. So begins Charles Dickens' beloved tale of a bitter miser who takes a harsh look at his life with the assistance of a few ghosts and discovers the tru meaning of Christmas. There are countless adaptations of this story, I would say every other year someone tries to put there own spin on this classic tale. These adaptations are as varied as the world is wide from the recent Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (dont waste your time by the way) which follows a young lethario who realises the true love of his life with the help of three girlfriend ghosts, to Scrooged which is a modern take on the classic version of the story, everyone tries to improve upon Dickens' original work. This story is a classic for a reason, it is not begging to be manipulated into something new, it simply asks to be told and be told well. The Muppets may seem an odd choice to bring this to fruition, but that is was they accomplish in there version of A Christmas Carol. The movie is narrated by Charles Dickens, played humbly by Gonzo. Sure they add a few songs, Bob Cratchitt is actually a frog, and they did turn the singular Marley into the Marley Brothers so they could be played by the crotchity old muppets who always heckle Fozzi. The Muppets bring a bit of light heartedness to a story that can be very dark, they stayed true to the book and incorporate several direct lines from the story itself. It would not be Christmas without a visit from the ghosts and muppets.

The Holiday - Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. An all star cast, I have always loved Jack Black, and I will faithfully watch him in any movie not involving large monkeys. This movie is really two love stories in one. Truthfully I could take or leave the story set in England. I tolerate it because the little girls are so darn cute, and I love to hear there little accents. The American story is what makes this a true winner. It explores love on a few different levels. To me love is what Christmas is all about. Love for your family, love for your friends, and most importantly the love of God towards humanity. Kate Winslet's Iris finds herself again through the love of a neighbor and a friend. She learns to value herself while getting to know an elderly gentlemen who was a screen play writer. She learns to believe that she deserves to be loved through meeting a score writer who falls for her. I love men who play music and who write music. There is this beautiful scene where he is playing her a song he wrote for a mutual friend and then he plays a song he wrote for her. "Iris, if you were a melody... I used only the good notes." I melt every single time.

Love Actually - So this one again touches on the theme that Christmas is about love. It goes as far as to change the lyrics to the song "Love is All Around" to say "Christmas is All Around." Again this movie is really a collection of stories, there are some I don't care for and others I really enjoy. I think my favorite story line involves a writer and a housekeeper, they don't speak the same language but they love each other nonetheless. There is another story which on the surface seems to be about a young boy in love with a girl at his school, but really it is about the bond of a father and a child right after the death of the woman they both loved. So many different types of relationships but it all comes down to the same key point. Cherish the ones you love, and chase after the things you want. I love it.

Eloise at Christmastime - I have always wanted to be like Eloise, to be rich and live in the Plaza in the heart of New York. This is the story of a little girl, whose mother travels all the time and so she is cared for by her nanny (played by the incomparable Julie Andrews). She lives in the Plaza hotel, and essentially she has her run of the place. Christmas in New York is always a magical time to me, and Eloise has the same beliefs. In the midst of her adventures she saves a young woman from attaching herself to a low life, and simultaneously reconnects her to her childhood sweetheart. My favorite part though is when Eloise goes shopping. She is so excited to buy presents for all of the people in her life. I love the representation of a child who loves the giving of Christmas as much as the getting.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - While yes every Harry Potter movie goes through Christmas, I don't usually think of them as Christmas movies. The first one though, always seems like Christmas to me. Harry is a young boy of 11 who has never known love in his life. He has been living with his Aunt and Uncle who despised his parents before they died and then resented Harry for not having anyone else to care for him. They made him live in a closet and neglected him for 11 years. Upon his 11th birthday he learns that he is special and that there is a whole world of people who revere him. He leaves his Uncle's home to go live at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is suddenly wealthy and popular, he could walk around that school like he owned it, bullying the weak and teasing the poor. He chooses a different path though and befriends a poor red headed student named Ron and a Muggle born teacher's pet named Hermione. Through these friendships he learns the important thing in life. There is a scene at Christmas when Ron excitedly wakes Harry up for Christmas. Harry springs out of bed just thrilled to be with his best friend, excited because Ron is excited. Then Ron informs Harry that he has presents. His face lights up like... well i guess the best phrase here is that his face lights up like Christmas morning. You just want to pick him up and swing him around and say yes Harry you do deserve all of this, and now you can have it.

So if your list of Christmas must sees lacks any of these above, I suggest giving them a try. And if you think wow I already watch so many movies at Christmastime, maybe you could skip one or two airings of that dreadful Christmas Story and replace it with one of these.