The Pirate Movie (1982)

RATING: 4.5/5
This movie is loosely based on "Pirates of Penzance" with bad 80's cheesy pop songs, sung by Christopher Atkins and Kristy McNichol. First off, after the "Blue Lagoon", I had a hard on for Christopher Atkins. My inner lesbian came out during "Little Darlings" when I remember having a crush on Little Kristy McNicol.
The movie is very dated, don't get me wrong, but so are soooo many other movies at that time and who can't appreciate a good 80's comedy. Any one who has seen this movie knows that it will NEVER when any type of award for it's artistic merits, the cast looks like they had so much fun making it and I doubt anyone took it seriously then.
But I have to say that the movie would be nothing without the performances of "The Pirate King" and the "Major General", who give the movie movie the priceless comedy found in the movie. The movie is a bit of a cult classic. It is one of those movies that you either LOVE or HATE. No one is truly on the fence over this movie.
But the movie does make you wonder who the movie's target demographic was based on the good clean family fun, where this movie was place in the video stores in the 80's, and teenage sexual innuendos that are found in it. Over all, the movie is like to trip down memory lane for me and I just can't get enough.

Lakeview Terrace (2008)

RATING: 4/5
I enjoyed this flick. Samuel L was super psycho and you knew what his issue was for the beginning. It had a good plot and the acting was good. We were attached to the movie and were wanting to see what happened next and how they would stop him. Good job!

Seven (Se7en) (1995)

RATING: 5/5
"What's in the box?" Oh, how we love this movie and not just because it is Gwyneth Paltrow's head (oops, did I spoil it?). Awesome cast, awesome plot and awesome acting. If you have not seen this movie yet, add it and bump this baby to the top of your must see list. You will not be disappointed (unless you really like Paltrow).

The Game (1997)

RATING: 4/5
This is a good thriller that needs to be added to your queues. Even though it is a bit old, the movie keeps you intrigued and you are constantly trying to figure out what is real and what is not. I don't care more for Michael Douglas, but I have to say he is a good person to mess with in the role.

Meet the Robinsons (2007)

RATING: 4.5/5
Not just because this is Disney, but I really did enjoy this. It was totally out of this world. The characters are just that, characters, although I wish Disney would stop using "stars" as voices cause you really have trouble getting their faces out of your minds and focusing on the story it's self.

Stick It (2006)

RATING: 3/5
The movie did not get a lot of hype, but it is basically "Bring it On" for gymnastics. Very predictable and nothing really to write home about. Catch it if you are adding it to your netflix queue, but it is not necessary to bump to the top of your list.

Mean Girls (2004)

RATING: 4.5/5
Mean Girls is a fun and enjoyable movie. People say it is the "Heathers" of the 2000s, but it does not even come close. This is about people who like to stab you in the back or basically just another day in high school.

Bad Santa (2003)

RATING: 4.5/5
This movie was just fricking hilarious. The "Badder Santa" version is much better. It had a bit too much f-words from Billy Bob, but over all it had a great story and a great cast. Expect language and sex all over the place.

John Tucker Must Die (2006)

RATING: 3.5/5
I enjoyed this because that is how I think life should be. Every macho guy thinks he can just do what ever he wants and gets away with it. But the movie it's self is pretty predictable. This movie is good if you just wanna watch something fun that doesn't require much thought.

My Best Friend's Girl (2008)

RATING: 3/5
Recommended by a friend, I took decided to watch this. I eventually would have watched it because I like Kate Hudson's romantic comedy. She is really following in her mama's foot steps. The movie starts out slow, but picks up and you really hope that they all get together and comes out happy. And it does!

Wonder Woman (2009)

RATING: 3/5
I gave it middle of the road rating... I enjoyed it (Elisabeth did not), but I was not impressed with the animation itself. I love the 70's Super Friends Wonder Woman drawings better. The story was the okay, it spent more time about "the amazons" and less about the story line. The finale went by quickly and it lacked big drama.

Changeling (2008)

RATING: 4/5
I watched this with Elisabeth and I was impressed. I thought that I would not like it because I am not a fan of drama movies much. The story was good it kept me intrigued to figure out what was going on. I recommend it.

Almost Famous (2000)

RATING: 5/5
This is one of my favorite movies of all times. I guess it reminds me of me. Working on my Latin music magazine, becoming friends with the celebrities and ruining your life in the process. I can relate to it well. it is a great story and the acting is awesome. Kate Hudson was perfect in her role. Made me respect her so much more after this.

Tinker Bell (2008)

RATING:4/5
I finally got up the courage to waste an hour plus of my day to watch the tinkerbell movie. Overall, it was not bad. The other fairies have better personalities than tink. She still is over rated. The end of the movie brings us to Wendy's home. There will be another Tink movie, which looks much better than this one. For now, I will continue to watch the fairy movies until the bore me.

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

RATING: 4/5
I could totally see why this movie got so many academy awards. It was a clever way of telling the story of this kid's life. The jumping around from different time normally annoys me, but this was done in a way that made sense. Great film, well worth the money for it.

Treasure Planet (2002)

RATING: 5/5
This movie was soooo underrated. It was a great story, the animation was superb. I was on the edge of my animated seat just waiting to see who it was all gonna play out. I wish I hadn't waited this long to see it. Probably a top fave of Disney animated movies.

Twilight (2008)

RATING: 2/5
Still not sure what the hype is all about. Movie was okay. It took 1 hour and 30 minutes to get to any good vampire stuff and that lasted a whole 15 minutes. I understand it is not a true "vampire" movie, but a "love" story. As a love story it was... "not too bad", but it did not make me want to read the book or fall in love with Bella and Edward. But was worth the $4. And Elisabeth agrees!

Australia (2008)

RATING: 3.5/5
A long but entertaining movie. You really believe and feel for the characters and the story that is being told. But I listening to Hugh Jackman, I thought I was watching Crocodile Dundee at times. This is an epic love story with not much more substance than that.

Body of Evidence (1993)

RATING: 3/5
I am surprised this movie got such a bad rap, I enjoyed the movie and it actually kept me intrigued to see how it was going to end. Maybe it was Madonna that drug it down, but overall I thought it was a good storyline. Not intensely thrilling, but I was satisfying.

Broken Arrow (1996)

RATING: 3/5
This was a fair standard action movie, a good guy, a bad guy. One person trying to stop the other for doing bad, while that bad is trying to stop the good from stopping him. Good cast of people, but there is nothing special about the movie, but it wasn't a bad movie.

Call Back (2009)

RATING: 2.5/5
This movie had a lot of promise. Instead it just used every single opportunity to make it about the gore factor. That doesn't make for a very compelling movie to me. It was okay...the acting wasn't horrible, and it was pretty amusing when it came down to it. I believe it was geared towards 17-29 year old boys, if that is any indication of the humor and horror.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (2009)

RATING: 3/5
This movie started out very good and was consistently funny, even through the open credits, but totally lost it for me at the end when Brett becomes a chicken (spoiler). At that point, Elisabeth and I both looked at each other with that absurd look on our faces, not like the whole premise wasn't absurd... but that part just was too much.
The animation was good, humor was very good, and I liked the fact that you knew the voices yet you could not place them off the bat. It is nice to see a good cartoon come from someone other than Disney or Dreamworks. This is definitely good for the whole family, although some humor was geared a little toward adults.

The Box (2009)

RATING: 3/5
OMG, I am soooo confused, just like Donnie Darko. At first, the movie was going along and then all of the sudden, I went "HUH". Not necessarily a thriller, but more like creepy psycho movie. The initial concept was good, but I failed to grasp where NASA and NSA truly came into play. It seemed like it was trying to hard to be deep and complex and ended up being more like a cheesy sci-fi with bleeding noses and village of the damned zombie like people. Add a little "classic" dun dun dun music and there is the movie in a BOX. Seems to me that some people will get it, and others, like me, will not.

Everybody's Fine (2009)

RATING: 3.5/5
Elisabeth thought this was a romantic comedy for some reason so we rented this based on that aspect and were a tad disappointed that it was not. We both watched for different reasons, mine for Drew and hers for Kate. The premise of the movie was good, well written and a great cast of characters. I cried... so I recommend kleenex and Elisabeth, who rarely cries at anything had a moment too. In sadness, it was very emotional... but the end joy was heartwarming... On the plus side, it was nice to see Drew Barrymore's character confused about her sexuality and ending up at the end with Shane from the L-Word.

TRON (1982)

RATING: 4/5
We watched Tron for the first time last night because we saw the trailer to Tron Legacy, which looks incredibly awesome. I had never seen the first one but was around when the video game hit the arcades. I had tried to play, but I am a dork at video games. Knowing what I know about the video game, the movie used a lot from the game or vice versa.
The movie does not hold up well with the times, but what Sci-Fi movie does. Although other films previous to TRON's release featured very limited computer graphics special effects (CGI), TRON is generally credited with being the first motion picture to prominently feature this type of special effect & make it integral to the storyline. And this shows during the movie when you keep in mind the technology and the year of the movie. Another thing I found interesting is that they dialog during the movie mentioned things about theories for the future computer world, that were just theories. But today, these are things in our every day life that we take for granted.
As for the storyline, boy was it hard to follow. This explains why it was considered a flop at the movies. Disney always tries to market to teen boys, but always seem to fail. It wasn't until half way through the movie did I get it, but still there was something lost. Storyline were not explained, characters underdeveloped, and over all... It was a bit boring other than looking pretty and the motorcycles were friggin kickass.
Now, if I would have seen the movie in the 80's I might have been a fan... but it was a no go for becoming a favorite movie of mine.

The Lion King (1994)

RATING: 4/5
I watched the Lion King for the first time ever and I have to say that I enjoyed it. I could see where Mandy would really like the movie. As for me, I found the movie a good mix between humor, emotion, and suspense. The music was not overly annoying and I am glad Elton John did not sing everything like Phil Collins did with Tarzan.
There were a few part of it where you sit there and say Whoa... that's not for kids and if you are like me, you knew the moment when Simba and Nala procreated... Nala totally gave Simba the "wanna get it on" look... and wow, at the end of the movie, they have baby.
I am not a fan of watching a cartoon and knowing the voices of the characters, which is why I enjoyed other Disney movies, but when you have Darth Vader as Mufasa and Ferris Bueller, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, JTT... I was totally thinking of Mufasa with a helmet on, etc... That is the part of the movie that did annoy me. I do have to say that I really thought that Disney did a good job on portraying the animals as if they were animals and how they interacted with each other. Good Job!

Alien Resurrection (1997)

RATING: 3.5/5
I hadn't seen Alien or Aliens in years, plus never saw Alien3, but we decided to watch Alien Resurrection instead of watching in order. This is the first time watching it for me, but was Elisabeth's favorite of Alien series. Without remembering about what happened and how they come to be, the storyline was still very followable. There was a few things that Elisabeth explained to me to help me along, but otherwise it was easy for a non-Alien fan to watch and to be enjoyed. It was action packed, not a lot of down time and it wasn't too long a movie to get bored with. Winona Ryder was super cute in the movie too.

Brothers (2009)

RATING: 3/5
Based on the previews of the movie, I was disappointed to find out that it was not as suspected. SPOILER: I was under the impression that the wife and the brother actually had an affair, but did not. Overall, the movie was decent... a tad boring at times, but was a good understanding of what sometimes happens when soldiers come back and the intense mind games that happen. I do have to say that Natalie Portman is very very cute in this movie, so the cute factor alone is worth sitting through the movie.

Speed (1994)

RATING: 4/5
Although the movie was non-stop go go go... I felt that it did not have the intensity of some of the movies like Die Hard due to the fact that Keanu Reeves lacks personality and his performance is soooo mono toned that I could not feel that he even cared enough for this people. Sandra Bullock gave a good performance though as well as some of the main characters on the bus. I was on the edge of my seat and was curious to see how it was going to play out and how they were gonna get off the bus. Dennis Hopper is an awesome crazy man and he portrayed it well here too. As a first time watch with everyone telling me it was this awesome thrill ride of a movie, I was a little let down because I just didn't feel that intense excitement. I blame Keanu for that.

The Last Emperor (1987)

RATING: 4.5/5
J's REVIEW: I am not a fan or long drawn out movies, but for some reason this movie held my interest throughout. I was very entertained and felt like I learned a little about history without spending hours in school. With time, the movie held up and did not seem dated. I did have an issue with the casting of the teenager emperor. The child and the adult both had a better grasp of the English language and I found it funny that as a teenager, he seem to have had a heavier accent. But I did like the hint of lesbianism in it. Woo.

E's REVIEW: I love this movie and always have. I think Bertolucci is an amazing director and he did such a fabulous job with the story spanning the decades. It is no shock that this movie won so many Oscars when it was new over 20 years ago. If I had any complaints about it, it was that it seemed like there was a lot of "cultural" filler. I don't mind when it comes to Asian history though as it seems to fit.

Sleeping Dogs Lie (2005)

RATING: 3/5
As much as the subject matter grossed me out, the story itself was midly hypnotic cause no matter how bad the plot, acting, etc was I could not pull myself away from this train wreck. From the beginning, as soon as the girl decided to blow her dog... I knew this movie could not be good. But it was not a story about bestiality, but more about being open and honest in relationships and what secrets should be taken to the grave, obviously this one. So, it was more about relationships than making out with a dog (which they do not show)

Disclosure (1994)

RATING: 4/5
J's REVIEW: Originally, I couldn't have cared less to watch this movie but as if progressed, I was curious to find out how it would end up. Although the movie seemed straight forward, it didn't play out like I originally thought it would. Demi Moore was as bitchy as always, and Michael Douglas was again the helpless victim (or was he?)

E's REVIEW: Rewatched this movie since it first came out years ago. I don't think I ever realized just how dated this movie really was until today. It's not to say it is a bad thing, but it is definitely weird to watch movies where virtual reality was on the forefront of technology. But that is neither here nor there really.

This movie is all about how tables could be turned in sexual harassment cases and how hard it is for people to believe that a man could be sexually harassed by a woman. By today's standards, we now know anything is possible. Women are just as screwed up as men when it comes to power, but back then (I can't believe I just said that), most people wouldn't have ever thought it. Amazing what a few years will do. Still a decent movie though, and the social commentary still rings true today.

Planet 51 (2009)

RATING: 3/5
Never heard much about this movie until we saw a preview of it on another dvd. Surprisingly, this movie was entertaining, clever, witty and over all, a good time. They referenced a lot of sci-fi movies in it cause a few good belly laughs. The voices were not so recognizable, even though I could pick some of them out, but for the average joe, they won't. Wasn't too long or too short and would recommend this.

Alice in Wonderland (2010)

RATING: 4/5
Visually stimulating, this movie doesn't require you to have seen the cartoon or read the books. All the characters get defined and are entertaining. Although there is some downtime to get you bored, it is well worth the end fight scene. This movie is not for kids, it is not fun and comedic, and probably will have them bored from the lack of "high jinx" that the cartoon has.

UPDATE: With the release of the movie on DVD/Blu-Ray, I decided that I needed to take a look at the movie again from a new perspective.
While watching the movie on IMAX 3-D, we thought the movie was visually incredible, felt almost as if you were there with the characters and cast; but after the Blu-Ray release, my 3-D experience now feels like a let down. The brilliantly vivid colors were alive on my 47″ TV, the sound far surpassed the IMAX version. While with 3D, the movie felt dark; the 2D version was dark because they were in the forest and not washed out.
Watching the movie a second time, you see many things that you missed the first time, for example on a first watch you will not see how the characters in Alice's world resemble their counter parts in Wonderland. Seeing it again, you look for those characteristics and laugh and enjoy how cleaver the filmmakers were for that.
The special bonus features are nice, you get to look at each of the major characters, how they got into character, what they went through daily in make up and even how they made Johnny Depp dance. Overall, I am more impressed now watching the 2D Blu-Ray edition than I was with the original 3D version I saw. If you have Blu-Ray, this is a must.

Women in Trouble (2009)

RATING: 4/5
This movie was hysterically funny at the beginning of the film, but as it it progressed it seemed to play out more like "Crash" and how each of these girls are connected. Overall, it was entertaining but I feel that it was more like a reason to just see Carla Gugino in a a bra and panties and have lots of crotch shots.

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