Enchanted

(2007)

 

****

Recently Disney has been coming out with films and cartoon shorts that resemble how Disney originally operated in its glory days.  One of the first films I have seen this with, was “Enchanted.” I could almost guess as if Walt Disney himself wrote the screenplay.

The beginning cartoon was the most Disney-like part of the movie, due to the fact that a lot of people recognize Disney with its classic cartoons. If you continued to look at Giselle as how she started out as, a cartoon, then the rest of the movie would be like a classic Disney cartoon meeting present-day New York City, the place where there is no happy endings.  They did a great job showing the difference between the real world and the classic Disney world.

The thing about this movie, is it had tie-ins with other classic Disney princess stories.  Though if I had to guess which princess story is most like “Enchanted” I would definitely say “Sleeping Beauty.”  Everything in it from the characters to the plot was almost the same.  It also had mentions of Cinderella and Snow White.

There were also a few musical numbers done in the film.  Unlike most musicals where everyone automatically joined in with the song, they had an interesting way of explaining why the people joined in with the singing.  Sure it was corny, and unrealistic, but it was a heck more realistic than every other musical.  Also, three out of five songs nominated for “Best original song” in this year’s Oscars, were all of the songs used in this film.

The reactions she had in the real world were very genuine for her character, and I believe she did it well.  If the audience forgets about her true character, then the whole perspective changes. You have to watch it as if she was a cartoon.

Overall, I give Enchanted four stars because, I believe we don’t see enough original films anymore.  People are running out of ideas, this was creative and well done.  Peace Out.

• The voices of Ariel, Belle, and Pocahontas all had cameos in this film.

Juno

(2007)

**** 1/2

I guess the very first thing you have to ask yourself is, how can a movie about teenage pregnancy be interesting at all? Better yet, why has it been nominated to win so many awards? This is what I asked myself before watching the movie for the first time.

The first time I saw this film I was a little confused with the whole thing. I absolutely didn’t get it. I have to admit though; the characters were what made the movie work. With all the sarcasm it brought, and the strange form of words that seemed to have been made up right there on the spot. It made it hilarious. I guess in the way “The Office” does its humor.

The second time watching it wasn’t so different, but the humor was even better, I can’t explain it more than that. I definitely enjoyed it more the second time around, but it wasn’t until the third time watching it I truly appreciated it. Third time is a charm they always say.

The third time watching it, I experienced something that I haven’t before. It was a strange feeling. I’ve seen it twice before, but here is what happened. Watching it I felt hungry for some snacks from the concessions. Normally it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I’ve seen the film twice already, I knew what was going to happen, but still, I felt a strong urge to watch it anyways. I did not want to miss a thing. That is when I realized the genius that is this film. If they can capture an audience in such a way, they absolutely deserve an award.

Every time I re-watch it, it gets better. I can’t explain it. Maybe I can understand it a little more, appreciate their humor. The whole story-line of the film isn’t normally something I want to see. But it was a good movie. I would suggest this film to anyone that wants to see a movie, and cannot decide what to see. Juno has everything in it. As soon as this goes to DVD or Blu-ray, I will buy it. Peace out.

 

 

Over Her Dead Body

( 2008 )

****

Let’s begin with the trailer.  I had no idea of this movie’s existence until it was already out, when I saw its trailer.  It was unmistakable, from the looks of the theatrical trailer it looked almost like a remake of a more popular movie made years ago by the title “Ghost.”  To make the story short, “Ghost” was about a guy who died, and a fake psychic who normally scams people, started seeing him and talking to him like a normal psychic would.  Then he tries to stop his old wife from seeing another guy, because for some reason, the other guy was evil.

So this movie would have to be just like “Ghost.” The only difference was the fact that this was a comedy, while “Ghost” was a drama.  It had the same basic story line, which is why I wanted to see how it was done.

Like “Ghost”, this movie had scenes of the ghost purposefully annoying the psychic in order for them to do what they want.  Though while it was similar in a lot of ways, the fact that the ghost was a girl and the psychic was a girl as well, there were comedic cat fights between the two.  It was a basic love triangle between the dead girl the guy and the psychic.

When it came to the scene when the psychic found out Kate was a ghost, she wasn’t very scared.  She just shrugged her shoulders, and was impressed.  I’m not a rocket scientist, but I would think that when it came to dead bodies talking to you, I would think I would wet my pants, but that’s just me.

The movie truly did have great comedic elements to it, I really liked this film.  Some of it was corny, but then again, I think it was meant to be that way.  The talking parrot bit made me laugh pretty hard.  So all in all, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good time at the movies.  Peace Out.

Nancy Drew

(2007)

*** 1/2

Nancy Drew is a film adaptation of a popular series of mystery novels with the same title. The movie started out as what I can guess any one of the books might have, with her finishing a case. That’s the thing though, the filmmakers involved with this film thought that the viewers would know everything about her. Sure the audience knows she’s a young detective, but what’s her back story? I would have liked to see how her story began, a little character development is one thing I really like to look forward to in movies.

A lot of the film involved what I can only start to describe as “young humor.” Things that in reality wouldn’t make sense. Why a 16 year old girl would be a detective is beyond me. I coincide with the girls that made fun of Nancy. This was during the whole “Showing off” musical montage with the song “I’m pretty much amazing” playing in the background. It’s unreal.

Now I give kudos to the movie when it came to the main plot of the film. It was unexpected when I found out it was about a death and “spooky” things start to happen. To her it was an unsolved mystery that resulted in a death. I wouldn’t expect such a young chick flick like this to be remotely scary, and it wasn’t, because of the overflowing amount of “young humor.”

As far as the action goes, it was pretty decent when considering other films like this. Along with everything else, movies intended for younger audiences have progressed since I was younger, I just haven’t seen very much of these types of films. So in a way, I am impressed with the action in it.

This movie actually reminded me of another film that I haven’t seen in ages, but the story lines are similar, “Harriet the Spy.” Which like Nancy Drew, was also based off of a novel. As the film progressed, I guess I can say it was as predictable as any detective movie could be. The only thing that I wondered about in the movie is why the antagonist wanted to keep the secret about the actress’s daughter.

When all was over, I think I’ll stick with my other favorite detectives instead, “Psych,” and “Monk.” Peace Out.

The Perfect Holiday

(2007)

****

I always get mixed up whenever I see a movie titled like this. Throughout the past few years there has been a few movies titled “The Holiday,” “The Last Holiday,” “The Best Holiday,” etc. Also Queen Latifa starred in two of those films. I never heard of this film before I watched it, all I knew was it was about Christmas, and something to do with a Santa.

The movie started with a little amusing cartoon showing the characters who represent Queen Latifa, and Terrance Howard. Queen Latifa played Mrs. Christmas, but no one knew that until the end, she just acted like a good spirit, while Terrance Howard acted like the bad spirit. It reminded me of the whole “Good Cop, Bad Cop” Routine.

The story was simple. It was about a single mom raising three children, and falls in love with a man. Simple as that. At the same time, her ex-husband was being controlling, and wanted custody of his kids for Christmas. Not because he wanted to be with his kids, it was because he wanted money for his new hit CD.

Morris Chesnut plays an inspiring songwriter not catching any breaks. In the meantime, he works half-time as a shopping mall Santa, where he meets the single mom’s daughter, Emily for the first time. Instead of asking Santa for gifts, she wishes that her mother gets what she wants, a good man, and a true man.

Benjamin (Morris Chesnut) decides to give the little girl her wish, but he didn’t feel right about revealing his secret, that he is Santa, and by doing so he believed he would be taking advantage of the single mom. So he lied and told her he was just an office supply salesman.

Things get tense when he finally catches his break in songwriting. He ends up writing songs for the single mom’s ex-husband, which as anyone could guess, got messy real fast.

Overall, it was a fantastic Christmas movie. The songs were great. It was very original, and I recommend this to anyone who is in the mood for a Christmas film. Peace Out.

Cloverfield

( 2008 )

*****

They certainly started off the new season with a bang! I had no idea what to expect when I bought the ticket for “Cloverfield.” The people who worked on this film made sure that most of its audience did not know what to expect. I knew that it was a monster movie, and made to look like it was shot with a home video camera. Anything other than that, I was clueless.

When it came to the monster, watching the trailers all I could think about was Godzilla. It had to be a new Godzilla film. Then due to the fact this film was made by the rising Hollywood filmmaker, J.J. Abrams, maybe the monster was that of the same monster from his critically acclaimed television series, “LOST”. The monster was none of these, and all I can say is that it was creative. It reminded me of some space aliens I have seen in a couple “Star Wars” films. To be truthful I half expected the monster to be a little bigger than it already was, though it was pretty big, I wouldn’t have minded a bigger more grotesque monster.

Some critics have criticized the way Cloverfield was shot. The whole point of the film was to make it look like it was shot with an average everyday home video camera. Due to work I have done with home video equipment, I believe they did a great job with the filming. I give them kudos for making it look so realistic.

One thing that I liked about the film was there was no real soundtrack, no score. Before this movie, I wouldn’t even dream to think about what a movie would be like with no music. I thought it would be horrible. Music, in a lot of ways, is what makes a movie worth watching. I believe the lack of music in this one, is what made this movie worth watching.

The ending is another thing a lot of people have a problem with. It doesn’t really have one. In a way it does, and I think it was done pretty cleverly, but in a lot of ways, it just plain ends. The thing about the end is it keeps viewers thinking. Leaves questions in their minds about what happened.

Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is willing to see an all original movie. A instant classic which will leave you breathless, and want to see it over and over again.

• The actors weren’t allowed to read the script till they were signed on

Fool’s Gold

( 2008 )

****

As the number 1 movie in the box office this week, Fool’s Gold is a romantic comedy with a sense of adventure in it. Don’t see too many of those these days. Some people may remember that Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson played on-screen couples before, in “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” The story is about a treasure hunt for a famous treasure that I have never heard of before.

The funny bit about this movie is the main villain in the movie is supposed to be a famous rapper. Which no one would ever expect to see in an action/adventure movie. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t know what they were going to find. The movie IS called “Fool’s Gold” after all. And usually fool’s gold is a mineral (pyrite) that usually looks like gold but is completely worthless.

The idea of the film is pretty interesting. It has a certain “National Treasure” feel to it, except it mainly takes place out in the sea. According to critics, this movie was a box office flop. I actually am very confused about that. The movie kept me wondering, and that’s what I believe it was trying to do. Even the soundtrack was pretty well done.

Overall I liked this movie. It kept me interested, and wouldn’t mind seeing it again. I would recommend this to anyone wanting just to have a good time at the movies. Peace out

Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street

“Sweeny Todd”

Demon Barber of Fleet Street

(2007)

*1/2

Sweeney Todd… Demon Barber of Fleet Street…this certainly was a different movie than I am used to. They once called “Hairspray” the happiest movie of the year, regardless of the fact that it too was a musical. I will have to say that this movie was the angriest movie of the year, along with the fact that it too is a musical.

Alright only ten minutes into the movie I was already thinking that this movie will have no talking in it. Just like an action film is action-packed, this was singing packed, and not very good singing either. There was definitely too much singing done in this film.

The story is simply put this. Johnny Depp’s character plays a barber, who lost his wife years ago. I didn’t really understand why, but that’s what happened, and that is why he is so gosh darn angry. I cannot however explain why he looks like Frankenstein’s wife.

I honestly don’t care to watch Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean sing a song to his razors, almost kissing them, it was weird. Then he started cutting peoples necks, that was gory.

This movie was downright…boring, weird, and annoying. Not to mention every character looked like a zombie. If any of these actors with the make-up they wore and costumes, walked onto another set, I would think they were dead zombies walking the earth.

Well, finally, I finished this movie. I honestly thought I would die watching this movie, just because it carried on so long. Peace out

• Russell Crow was originally set to play the lead
• Johnny Depp has worked with Tim Burton 5 other times than this film

The Eye

(200

***1/2

“The Eye” is a movie starring Jessica Alba based on a Chinese film with the same title. Well, actually it’s “Ging Gwai” in Chinese. The movie had two basic storylines.

The first one was about Alba’s character adjusting to her eyes, after she just got a cornea transplant.

The second one is about her ability to see ghosts with her strange new eyeballs. The ghosts scare the crap out of her, and lets face it, me. Quite possibly you.

Now I have no problem with ghost movies. I’m not much of a horror movie guy to tell the truth, but I pity Alba’s character. She’s been blind almost her entire life, and when she gets new eyes to see again, she’s excited and can’t wait to get the gift of sight, but the poor chick sees dead people taunting her 24/7.

This movie really scared the crap out me. It had enough of its own jumping moments. One minute it’s really quiet, and then BAM a ghost is in your face screaming.

The movie did have a lot of its scary moments, but I was left satisfied in the end. After she solved her own little crisis, she was able to be a paranormal superhero. Almost in the way Bruce Willis was a superhero at the end of Unbreakable.

One thing happened when watching this movie though. Like 4 minutes before it was finished, I accidentally spoiled the ending…

That’s all for today, peace out!

• Jessica Alba was nicknamed “Obi-Wan” on the set.
• The lead character was originally going to be played by Renee Zellweger

The Invasion of the Pod People

“INVASION of the Pod People”

(2007)

*

Invasion of the Pod People, is yet another version of the hit classic film, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers.” It’s made by a film company called “The Asylum.” The Asylum makes a number of movies that resemble titles of other hit blockbusters. Films like “I am Omega” is a version of “I am Legend” and they have also made a version of War of the Worlds. I am sure they have done plenty of others as well.

This version of “The Invasion” is a lot different than the Nicole Kidman version. Like in “The Invasion,” Whatever it is that snatched the bodies came from outer space. Though, unlike Kidman’s version, this movie had to deal with strange looking plants that somehow grow into a weirder version of the people.

Sometimes the acting was so bad in this film, that I thought the real people were the pod people. Then the end was horrible, basically, there was no end, which meant there was no point in trying to stop them. The Invasion had a better ending, which made people think about what it meant. Was it better to be the pod people, or was it better to be human. They had a valid point. When you were the crazy alien-type beings, crime rate went down to basically zero. Though it’s like you did not exist. In “Invasion of the Pod People” It basically said the pod people were the new human species, and they wiped out the old species. Similar to the original story for “I am Legend.”

Overall, the movie was dumb, and I believe they tried too hard to get an audience. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone. Peace out.