Thanksgiving in LA

We recently took a trip to California for Thanksgiving. We saw Conan live, went to 6 Flags, and visited friends. It was a really great trip, and it was Sally's first time making Thanksgiving dinner. Luckily it turned our pretty well.

Here we are waiting in line for Conan. These are our excited faces. We made Andy and Conan t-shirts.

Here is Sally and Sarah waiting in line. Sally is trying to recreate Andy's face.... unsuccessfully. Sarah has LaBamba's face on her shirt.

Here is Garr with some of the guys on the show. They were doing a bit with Pierre Bernard in the 5 million dollar jock strap. It was on of Garr's finest hours.

Sally posing with "Wonder Woman". This "Wonder Woman" is obviously a fake, since Sally is actually Wonder Woman.

Here we are posing with Bugs Bunny, Garr wanted a picture with The Flash...next time.

This is Garr embracing the Families of Gotham City at Six Flags, I guess he just got carried away in the moment.

Thanksgiving at Denny's, for our Slamapaloosa. It was almost worth the pointless 45 min wait.

Here is a second picture that was taken when Sally went a little crazy and Garr really liked the food.

Sally about to open the best Secret Santa gift ever.

Melissa in a phone booth in Solvang a little Dutch town, it felt just like home.

Garr and I sitting outside some mission in Solvang after walking all the crap long day.

Summer Sequels

We thought we'd give you a quick rundown of the summer sequels we saw. So in no particular order, here it goes.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen had everything in the original, just MORE. So that's both good and bad. The good: more transformers, more action, more explosions, more cool special and visual effects. The Bad: more stupid annoying pointless characters, more language, more sex and raunchy jokes. It was one of those movies where you walk out of the theater blown away by how awesome it was, and then later as you think about it and you realize that it wasn't that great. I'd give it a 6.5 out of 10.

We actually liked Madagascar 2 way better than the 1st one. The 1st one didn't have that great of a story, but what it did have is some great characters. Add that with the great story of 2nd one along with some great new characters and some fantastic music makes for one heck of a movie. I'd give it a 8.5 out of 10.

Terminator Salvation was great. We've since gone back watched all the Terminator movies edited and they are all good. For some reason there are a lot of people that were disappointed with T3 or TS or both and I can't understand why. I'll agree that T2 was the biggest jump in quality from its predecessor, but they're all good. We recommend them all and TS is probably the best because you don't have to watch it edited.

The 1st reboot of Pink Panther with Steve Martin was surprising at how hilarious it was. We totally recommend you see the 1st one if you haven't seen it, but unfortunately we can't recommend the 2nd one. The 1st one stuck to a certain realism that this one did not and that ruined the overall comedy. Also the 1st one was what you'd expect: a spy comedy. This one was more of a romantic comedy. I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

And finally and quickly I'll just say the Night of the Museum was surprisingly just about as good as the 1st one.

Where the Wild Things Are

We've heard a lot of mixed reviews about this movie. Some people love it. Some people hate it. We fall somewhere in the middle. I think most of the movie was really good. The only problem is they screwed up on the most important part: the ending. It started getting really dark toward the end and it never really resolved itself. So I'd like to give it a higher rating but I have to give it a 6.5 out of 10.

A Christmas Carol Imax 3D

We saw A Christmas Carol in Imax 3D, and it was breathtaking. We have seen lots of movies in 3D and lots of movies in Imax but never the two together. It was definitely worth the extra money. This is Bob Zemeckis' 3rd movie using motion capture animation technology and this was clearly the best. Polar Express was the first one. That was pretty good, but the animation wasn't as good back then. Beowulf was the second one and they really messed up the story to make it not as good. I think they learned from their mistakes because it seems like they stuck a lot closer to the source material with this movie. This story has been told a million times before but I think this is my favorite version of the story. It felt very fresh. The effects really helped improve the story. There was only one short moment that I felt the effects got in the way and they became more of a gimmick. Scrooge was shrunken down and chased by horses, which was cool, but I was thinking "what is the point of this." So being that this is the best use of this technology so far, the best version of this story, and the best 3D experience I have ever had, it is no wonder that we give this movie a 9 out of 10.

Gentlemen Broncos

Gentleman Broncos is the latest movie from Jared Hess who directed Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre. If you loved those movies, than I think you should check this out. I don't think this movie is as good as those other movies, especially Nacho Libre, but it's still very unique and hilarious. I think the main difference with this movie is the main character: in those other movies the main character is basically a cartoon. He's very quirky and funny. Whereas in this movie, everything is much more weird and bazaar, but the main character is grounded in reality. This works against the movie in a way because you feel really bad for him. I personally really related to this character. He spent most of the movie depressed because of all the bad things that happen to him, so I consequently started to feel kind of depressed too. But at the same time, when I left the theater my face was hurting from smiling the whole time because of how funny it was. This movie isn't for everyone. It's extremely bazaar. Not everyone will get it, but those who do will love it. This movie came out in limited release and is slowly growing to more and more cities. If it comes to a big city new you, I recommend you go to see it. I'd give it a 7.5 out of 10.

This is it, Coraline.

Michael Jackson's This is It came out for 2 weeks, and it's basically like seeing him in concert with a few good and bad exceptions. The Bad: The footage is of Michael and his crew practicing, so they aren't doing as good of a job as they would if they were actually performing live. Michael even says a few times that he's saving his voice. The Good: You get to see things close up to the screen, you also get to see a lot of cool behind the scenes stuff, and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than going to see MJ live in concert. Plus, you don't even have that option anymore do you? If the idea of going to see Michael Jackson concert is at all appealing to you than I recommend seeing this movie. I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10. I don't think it has as much re-watch-ability as other movies. You could wait and watch it on DVD, but I recommend seeing it now while it's still in theaters so you can get some of that concert feel.

On Halloween we saw the movie Coraline for the first time. I'm not a huge fan of movies like Nightmare Before Christmas and Corps Bride, but I think this is my favorite one. Those other movies are hard to relate to because everything is so weird. In this movie there's a normal world and a weird world which makes it easier to follow and get involved in. The stop motion animation is top notch. I just wish they would have taken out one scene of some naked old ladies dancing. I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10.

Something Old, Something New, Something Blu

First, something old: Valkyrie. I saw this movie back when when it first came out, but I'm just now getting around to reviewing it. A lot of critics gave this movie negative reviews for two reasons. One, because Tom Cruise did not speak in a German accent and two, because it is obvious what the outcome of the movie will be. First of all, yes Tom Cruise was playing a German so it would make sense that he would have a German accent, but it would also make sense that he would be speaking German the whole time and I definitely wouldn't want that. I like to read books and watch movies. I don't care how fast of a reader you are, if the movie has subtitles you will miss something on the screen. Second of all, yes this movies is a true story and we know that they don't end up killing Hitler, but it is still an exciting movie. With the movie Miracle it was no surprise to anyone that the Americans were going to beat the Russians in hockey, but it was still an exciting movie. A good movie gets better the more you watch it. I know exactly what is going to happen every time I see Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but I still love them more every time I see them. This movie was a solid thriller. I give it a 7.5 out of 10.

Second, something new: Something Wicked This Way Comes. I have to do one play review on this blog this semester so here it goes. Sally and I saw this at UVU Saturday night and sadly weren't that impressed. It wasn't very scary or funny or much of anything entertainment wise other than kind of interesting to look at. In the first act of the play all you find out is that there is a carnival that is evil which is basically what everyone knows going into the play anyways. I think this UVU production was very well produced. It had great costumes, make-up, and a fantastic set. I just thought that the story was really bland, and they shouldn't have chosen it. If you live nearby and you want to go, it's playing through at least Halloween. I still recommend going just to support the UVU Theater Department even though I only give this a 5.5 out of 10.

Third, something blu: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Blu-Ray Diamond Edition. We recently picked up this little gem (pun extremely intended) at Amazon.com for $10, which is a steal of a deal. I'm not sure if the deal is still on but you should get in on that action if you can. First of all, if you don't have Blu-ray you should invest in it. It's not as big of a jump in convenience as it was from VHS to DVD, but it is probably a bigger jump in picture and sound quality. The only problem is, in addition to needing a PS3 or blu-ray player, you need a 1080p HDTV and a HD sound system to acquire all of that quality. But once you get all of that, it's totally worth it. The second thing I want to tell you, if you didn't already know, is that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is one of the most fantastic movies ever made. It is probably my favorite Disney movie. The dwarfs are hilarious. I cannot get enough of them. It is probably the only movie that rivals Star Wars in how influential it is. Suffice it to say, I think you should all check out Snow White again, and you should get it on Blu-ray because there are all kinds of awesome special features that make you appreciate it even more. I definitely give this movie a 10 out of 10.

I take that back...

...The biggest surprise of the summer for me was actually probably Angels and Demons, and that's because it's a great sequel to what I thought was a terrible movie. I thought The Da Vinci code was a gross, disturbing, and dreadfully boring movie. In fact, about the only thing it had going for it was the music: a beautiful score by Hans Zimmer. I'd say with Angels and Demons the music was about twice as good and everything else was about 100 times as good. I though The Da Vinci Code should have been rated R with sex, nudity, and disturbing images. And Angles and Demons, with the exception of some violence that's too scary for kids, could have been PG. And as I mentioned, the most heinous crime that the 1st one committed is it's insanely boring. The only reason I saw the 2nd one is because Sally really wanted to see it in the dollar theater and I'd see just about anything there. And I'm so glad we did. Not only was it not boring, but it was really exciting. I was on the edge of my seat the whole movie. I totally recommend it. I'd give it about an 8 out of 10.

The biggest surprises of the summer.

17 Again would not normally be a movie I would want to see, but I heard it had some Star Wars references in it so I figured I should at least see it in the dollar theater. I did, and I'm so glad I did. The movie is SO funny. I totally recommend it to everyone. You might think it's a movie like Big, but it reminded me a lot more of Back to the Future because he's interacting with his family a lot without them knowing. After seeing this movie with Sally, I said to her, "That was pretty clean for a PG-13 comedy, don't you think?", and she said,"It was PG-13?" So that's cool. And this movie really has heart. I can honestly say I was touched by this movie. I'd give it a solid 9 out of 10.

Year One looked like a funny movie and it started out as one, but it slowly got worse and worse. Worse and worse both in more and more raunchy obscene material and getting less and less funny. First of all this movie definitely should've been rated R. This movie is stupid because it's for a very small audience. People that aren't religious won't get the jokes, and people that are will be offended. So the only people that will like it are people that were raised religious but have since rebelled. I'd give this movie a 3 out of 10.

New Movies

I've never read the book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I heard it's a lot different from the movie, so if you liked the book you might not like this. But for us, we went in not knowing what to expect and really liked it. We thought it was hilarious and a lot of fun. And Mr. T is in it and is perfect. I'd give it an 8 out of 10.

Surrogates was not a mind-blowingly awesome movie, but it was still pretty cool. My favorite part was just how different the surrogates looked from the people, mostly done with makeup I presume. The movie wasn't super spectacular, but it was still a decent Si-Fi thriller that is worth watching. I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

And finally we saw Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3D for the price of 1. They're still great movies. We hadn't seen them in a long time and it was well worth it for us to see them in 3D for the 1st time. The 1st one is a little better because an evil kid that blows toys up is more interesting than the bad guy being the toys having depression from never being played with again by a kid. This problem is never really solved by the end of the film. It kind of makes me nervous for the 3rd one, but we'll see. Anyways, we totally recommend you revisit these classics before the 2 weeks is up.

Romantic Comedies

New in Town is a hilarious comedy about a business woman played by Renee Zellweger who has to move from Miami to Minnesota. She meets all kinds of funny characters and ends up falling in love with a hunky guy played by Harry Connick Jr. That's all there is to it, and that's the sole reason that critics gave this movie bad reviews. It's predictable and unoriginal. Well of course, who cares? I knew they were going to fall in love. I didn't go to this movie to get my mind blown. I went to this movie to laugh and have a good time, and I did. This movie was at least as good as My Big Fat Greek Wedding which everyone seemed to love, but no one has heard of this movie. I give it an 8 out of 10.

The Proposal is a Movie that I was hoping would be as good as New in Town but isn't. The beginning is actually funny. Sandra Bullock is Ryan Reynolds' boss who'll be deported to Canada unless she gets married to Ryan who has to agree to it or else he will get fired too. After that, they go to Alaska to meet Ryan's parents which is where the comedy ends. There is only one funny character there, and it's pretty sad when the best character in a movie is a stripper. This movie is full of unnecessary sex, nudity, and language. This movie gets more and more ridiculous as it goes, ending with them falling in love which might be the most preposterous thing considering they hate each other the whole movie. I'd give it a 4.5 out of 10.

G. I. Joe

This is Garr writing and since I'm in a writing class, I have to write something in a blog every week. So I'm going to be more faithful on writing movie reviews, and I'm going to start with something that's still in theaters: G. I. Joe. Basically what I've been telling people is it's not Schindler's List, but it's still a fun movie with a lot of action. Think Transformers. It's a movie based off of a Hasbro toy line just like that, and the movies are similar. Another good movie to compare this to is The Mummy which is by the same director. I think of The Mummy as being a watered down cheesy version of Indiana Jones that's still a lot of fun. This is pretty much a cheesy watered down version of X-Men meets James Bond. If you go back and watch an old episode of G. I. Joe or Transformers, you will realize that those cartoons suck. So for me, the only character that I was interested in seeing if they did right was Snake Eyes (pictured above). And he was AWESOME! Snake Eyes is played by Ray Park who played Darth Maul and Toad in X-Men. For him alone, this movie is worth seeing. I'd give this movie a 7 out of 10.