Flash of Genius

Garr told me about "Flash of Genius" the day before we went and saw it. I had never heard of it before, but the way Garr described it made it sound fairly interesting. It is based on the true story of a man named Robert Kearns who invented the intermittent windshield wiper and how Ford stoled his idea. He spends a good part of his life trying to bring Ford to justice for using his patented ideas. I'm not surprised that I had not heard of this movie because I can imagine how difficult it would be to promote a movie about something so seemingly boring. For as dry as the story sounds, they do a great job of making it easy to relate to. I found myself getting caught up in the story, even if it was about something as seemingly trivial as a windshield wiper. The story does drag somewhat a times, but they do a good job of keeping up the pace for the most part.
The movie is a inspirational story about a man that took on a huge corporation with the odds stacked against him, not because he wanted revenge, acclaim, or money but because he knew that it was the right thing to do. It was a good movie, I'm glad we saw it in the dollar theater, however; it wasn't something that I'm sad that I waited to see. There were a few things that I did dislike about the movie but for the most part it was enjoyable. It deserves a 7 out of 10.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

This movie is awesome! I don't recommend trying to compare this to the movies. It's not like this is the 7th best movie of all time or anything. But it is a good little animated movie that is a great start to what could be the best animated TV series of all time. You have to remember that this started off as a TV show and nothing more. And then they decided to kick it off with a movie because the series was turning out so well. So if you go in just expecting to see a long episode of an awesome animated series, like Mask of the Phantasm, then you'll be completely satisfied. This movie is action packed, funny, exciting, good for adults, and great for kids and especially girls. I recommend this movie to everyone. I'm excited to see it again and even more excited for the series. It deserves a 10/10.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

We went to see this on Saturday, and we were going to go see Iron Man again at the dollar theater afterward. I was more excited to see Iron Man a second time then to see this for the first time. After seeing The Mummy, I wished we would have just skipped it all together. It was horrible. It was definitely the worst movie I had seen all year if not longer. Garr and I were willing to give it a chance even though it had not gotten great reviews. This time all the negative reviews were completely deserved. The story was bad, the action was pointless, the jokes were not good, and the acting left something to be desired. The original actress who played Brendan Fraser's love interest (Evelyn Carnahan) did not come back for the third movie. They did not remove her character, they just replaced her with another actress. This was a huge mistake. Also there is a different actor that plays the son, and he is much too old to be Fraser's son. In real life Fraser is 40 and the actor that plays his son is 27, meaning that if they were actually father and son, Fraser would have been 13 when he was born; and it is blatantly obvious that the age difference is not large enough. They tried to do the same thing as Indiana Jones with a father/son theme, but it didn't work because the mummy movies are too new. If they wanted to make it at all believable they should have gotten a younger actor for the son and made Fraser look older; at least with some gray in the hair. Another problem with the story was that Jet Li was not needed for the role, in most of the scenes his whole body was CGI and the voice was so synthesized that you couldn't tell it was him anyway. The effects were decent, but that didn't make the move any less of a travesty. I don't remember how many times I checked my watch during this movie to see if it was over, but it was a lot. I did not enjoy it at all, a total waste of time and money. I'm glad that we were able to go and see Iron Man again after this, to help me forget how bad The Mummy was. I give this movie a 3/10, please do not go see it, see Iron Man or The Dark Knight again.

Mamma Mia

Yes, we went to see Mamma Mia. Musicals are our guilty pleasure, we are both suckers for them. We had both been looking forward to Mamma Mia, and were hoping that it did justice to the Abba songs that we grew up loving. We were not disappointed, it has a great cast and a story that keeps the movie interesting. All the songs are incorporated in such a way that they are relevant to the story. Meryl Streep is very charming, and Amanda Seyfried's Abba-esque voice works well with the songs. Stellan Skarsgard, Collin Firth, and Pierce Brosnan are the potential fathers of the bride and they play off each other well. Pierce Brosnan does sing a couple songs, which is a mistake because he does not have a good singing voice at all. Other than the fact that he cannot sing, he did a good job. We both liked Mamma Mia very much and recommend it to anyone who can appreciate a good musical. I give it a 7.5/10.

Kit Kittredge

We went and saw Kit Kittredge at the dollar theater on Friday night. It had gotten pretty good reviews, but it did not do too well in theaters. It went to the dollar theater fairly quickly, which is great for us. It's is set during the depression and is about a 9 year old girl that wants to be a reporter. It sounds pretty cheesy and overly cutesy, but it was actually entertaining and fun to watch. All the supporting actors are what made the movie. Wallace Shawn, who plays Vizzini in The Princess Bride does an excellent job as the newspaper editor Mr. Gibson. Joan Cusack also plays a great traveling librarian. I highly recommend Kit Kittredge, it is great for kids but is also entertaining for the rest of us. I give it a 7/10.

Young@Heart

Garr had heard about this movie while watching Ebert & Roeper. They gave it some excellent reviews so we decided to give it a chance. It helped that it was in the dollar theater. We went and watched it just after we saw The Dark Knight for the second time. It was nice to watch a funny documentary, The Dark Knight is amazing; but true to its name, it is very dark. Young@Heart is a documentary about a group of old people who sing rock, pop, R&B, and pretty much everything you would not expect them to be singing. The movie opens to a 93 year old British woman singing "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash. Many of their renditions may not have the energy of the originals, but what they lack in energy they make up for with hilarity. It explores the lives of some of the members of the group, and does a good job of keeping up the pace. Half way through the movie, Garr was already leaning over and telling me that we had to buy it...and he hadn't even seen the whole thing! He said "sometimes you just know." It is a funny, uplifting documentary that is not without emotion. I recommend this movie to anyone who wants a meaningful movie with a good laugh. I give it a 8.5/10.

The Dark Knight

On Friday we went to the Imax to see the Dark Knight. We would have liked to go on opening night, but we both have work and I guess we aren't as hard core as some. I had been looking forward to this movie for a long time. I would say that it was my most anticipated movie this year. I had some pretty high expectations for it and I could have been setting myself up for a major disappointment, I was really looking forward to this movie. After seeing it, I was practically speechless. I wouldn't say that the movies is completely flawless, but it is close. There is non-stop action, but it doesn't seem like too much. The story is so well crafted that all the action has a purpose and is an integral part of the story. It is a extremely intense movie, and afterword Garr commented that he didn't know if he could take seeking it again; it is that much of a ride. I guess Garr changed his mind because we went and saw a matinee showing the next day.

It is a very strong PG-13, it is not a kids movie at all; nor is it for the faint of heart. Garr and I both agreed that we could not recommend it to everyone. It was however a pretty ideal movie for us. It was absolutely packed with action, it is a superhero movie, it has a great plot, and it stays true to the real story of Batman. It was violent, but there was minimal language and zero nudity. Heath Ledger does an incredible job as the Joker, and some would say that he was a little too creepy, sadistic, and insane; but I feel that it was an extremely accurate and brilliant portrayal. Michael Caine (Alfred) , Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Gary Oldman (Lt. James Gordon), and Christian Bale (Batman) were in Batman Begins, and they all came back for The Dark Knight. Heath Ledger's recent death and amazing portrayal of the Joker could have easily overshadowed all of their performances, but each shines in their respective roles. Aaron Eckhart gives an especially poignant performance as Harvey Dent/ Two-Face. All of the incredible supporting roles make Christian Bale's performance as Batman even better. Overall this was an amazing movie, it may not be for everyone because of the high level of intensity; but for those who can take it, I highly recommend it. I give it a well deserved 10/10.

Baby Mama

We went to see Baby Mama at the Dollar Theater over the weekend. We weren't in a big hurry to go and see it since we had not heard great things about it. It as actually pretty funny, it is a PG-13 comedy so there are bound to be some raunchy jokes; but for the most part it was a good show. The story is fairly predictable, but the interaction between Tina Fey and Amy Poehler is genius. I was pleasantly surprised that Steve Martin had a small role in the movie. He was hilarious and he made a good comedy even more funny. If you are a fan of Steve Martin, and you like Saturday Night Live then you can't go wrong with this movie. It was a decent comedy, but it does not join the ranks of my favorites, overall I would give it a 7/10.

Wall-E

Garr and I did not go to Wall-E opening weekend. We had seen the preview what seemed like a hundred times and we weren't sure if we really wanted to see it because we were so annoyed by the trailer. We ended up going 4th of July weekend anyway. Since I had heard nothing but rave reviews about it, I thought that it had to be decent. After seeing it I thought that it was ok, but I do not understand why everyone is so crazy about it. It is a kids movie, so I understand that I have to overlook some things but I thought it was not amazing and that it did not live up to all of the hype. I personally enjoyed Kung Fu Panda and Horton Hears a Who much much more. I didn't think it was horrible, it was good; but I can't recommend you to go see it in theaters. Garr, on the other hand, did not like it at all. He says that it is the most liberal movie he has seen in a while, and one of the the more depressing movies. He felt that animated movies should just be fun, and not try to incorporate some kind of political message....he disliked it much more than me. I know that this review probably will not prevent anyone from going to see it, but I just thought we should throw it out there that perhaps the 96% rating on rottentomatoes.com is not all that it is cracked up to be. I give it a generous 6/10.

And Garr felt so strongly about how much he hated it that he wrote his own review. Here it is...

There are plenty of good cartoons out there. Take Kung Fu Panda for example. Kung Fu Panda is hilarious, action packed, fun, exciting, an all around entertaining movie...all of which does not apply to Wall-E. Wall-E was the most liberal movie I've ever seen: We are apparently completely destroying the planet and too closed minded.

The President of Buy-N-Large was a total caricature of President Bush, even saying things like "We need to stay the course." It was the most offensive movie I've ever seen: Pixar believes that my future posterity is all gonna be a bunch of fat idiotic losers. It was the most depressing movie I've ever seen: This was the grimmest depiction of the future I've ever seen. The Mad Max movies, Water World, Titan A.E., and many other movies depict a grim future. The difference is those futures aren't without a little fun. I could even imagine myself fitting in somewhere. But not with Wall-E, that future makes me want to choke on my own vomit just thinking about it.

Worst script ever: "Wall-E" "Eva" "Wall-E" "Eva" "Wall-E" "Eva" Give me a break. Extremely boring: It's actually not the worst movie I've seen this year though. That prize goes to Nim's Island.

There were too many things about the movie that didn't make any sense: Why were humans from the past shown as live action and humans in the future shown animated? They should do 1 or the other. Preferably animation considering this is a cartoon. Why were humans in the future all exactly the same size? It's not like eating the same food and not exercising are the only things that effect a person's weight. And, in the 1st place, it's ridiculous to think that everyone in the future won't excise or eat right. There are plenty of people right now that are interested in health that aren't just gonna die off. Which if the people in the future were so "unhealthy" than why weren't they dying off quickly. In fact, they all seemed pretty happy. I was expecting them to be jerks to Wall-E. Instead, they were quite cheerful. It all seemed very contradictory to the message. And they all got dumber too. Then who was running the ship? The robots? If so, why didn't they just get rid of the humans a long time ago? And why was there a pool? And how come those robots have the ability to say names but not other words? Anyways, I could go on and on about all the logical mistakes. Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to logic when I'm watching a cartoon like Kung Fu Panda or Horton Hears a Who, but this movie just took itself way too seriously. I think Pixar was mad that Happy Feet beat them out for best animated picture. They made Wall-E which, in a way, is a lot like it but sadly not even as fun as Happy Feet, which is also a movie that takes itself way too seriously. In my opinion, Pixar needs to stay away from these political movies and stick to movies that are just plain fun like Toy Story and The Incredibles.

What's good about this movie... Spectacular animation, sound effects, and music. And the animated short at the beginning was hilarious! Overall, this movie sucked balls and the more I think about it, the more I hate this movie.

Get Smart

We have been watching old episodes of the Get Smart tv show on dvd. We both really enjoy the old show an we wanted to see the movie. As a fan of both Get Smart and Steve Carell I was hoping the movie would be filled with some hilarious bits and hopefully a little action. Get Smart provides both. It's not the most hilarious movie ever, and some of the humor is fairly crude since it is a PG-13 comedy. Yes it was more crude than the original show, which was a little disappointing. It was however very funny. They didn't stay completely true to the Maxwell Smart character but Steve Carell does a good job and makes the role his own is some ways. Overall it is a entertaining funny movie, and the crude humor is less than most PG-13 movies. I recommend it if you are looking for a silly lighthearted comedy, with some decent action sequences. I give it a 7/10.

The Incredible Hulk

We went and saw The Incredible Hulk on Saturday and I have to admit that I was pretty excited to see it. The Hulk is one of my favorite Comic Book characters and I wanted to know if this movie successfully portrayed him. I have not seen the previous Hulk movie that came out a few years ago, but from what I have read and heard, it is not really worth seeing. The Incredible Hulk that just came out sounds like it is much better. It makes the Hulk seem a little more realistic and not as far fetched as the previous movie made him out to be. It is really exciting, and it has a ton of action. It is a kind of dark for little kids, but for everyone else it is a great ride and I feel it is very worth seeing. I thought that most of the roles were well cast. I wasn't sure I would like Edward Norton as the Hulk, or Liv Tyler as Betty Ross, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good a fit they were. I highly recommend this movie to those who like some sweet action, a decent plot, and a touch of romance. I give it a 7/10.

Kung Fu Panda

We went to see Kung Fu Panda this weekend, as a fan of Jack Black I had been looking forward to this movie for a while. We were not disappointed. Obviously it is geared toward kids but it incorporates a nice mix of humor and martial arts. Jack Black does a great job voicing a fat panda, other familiar voices include Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, and Jackie Chan. Since it is animated they were able to pull off some crazy kung fu moves that would look cheesy if they were done in live action. On the poster it says to "Prepare for Awesomeness" and it lives up to its claim to Awesomeness. Garr liked it too, and he said that he is glad that he saw it instead of going to see Indiana Jones again, which is a pretty high compliment from Garr. I would say that Kung Fu Panda now ranks with some of my favorite animated movies, its hard to beat Jack Black when it comes to being crazy and hilarious. I give it a 7 and a half out of 10