Redbox Review: God's Not Dead

My first observation of this movie: Josh Wheton constructs AMAZING powerpoint presentations and will quite possibly make an excellent lawyer. Seriously where he got the access to that much perfectly constructed multimedia while still studying for his other classes is beyond me.

The movie centers around his character who registers for a philosophy class. The first day of class the professor tells the class that they can avoid studying certain topics and arguments if they are willing to write and sign a paper claiming God is Dead.

Josh a devoted christian cannot make himself sign the paper so the professor (Kevin Sorbo) gives him an assignment to prove the God is alive over the course of three lectures.

Interspersed through the story and amazingly interconnected we also follow Sorbo's girlfriend's story with dealing with a dementia riddled mother and the girlfriend's brother (played by Dean Cain) who is a powerful, insensitive workaholic. Oh yeah, and the story of his girlfriend whose job is a blogger trying to showcase Christians the error of their ways.

Yep, if you are thinking the storyline is a little too conveniently, yet implausibly interlinked...we are on the same page.

The movie was fine, but maybe like those after school specials in the 1970's and early 80's - the lesson was a little jumbled with some fairly stereotypical I dislike God or I'm apathetic to him characterizations. There is one moment when The Newsboys encounter a character (Dean Cain's blogger girlfriend) who desperately needs hope. While for sure the Newsboys should stick to singing, I do believe that group probably has experienced moments of prayer intercession and that moment even offers a moment of gentle humor.

Oh and toss in two other people - a woman who gets beaten up by her father for turning from her own Muslim religion and believing in God and a Chinese man whose family just doesn't want to hear about what he's studying in this little unknown college in Louisiana. It did make me think about the fact that there are so many people who don't have it as easy as I do...whose family tradition or government disowns the idea that God exists and a person can be killed for it. Brings home the heartbreaking images from IRAQ in the last several months.  Or the people underground in China, studying their bible in secret for fear of retribution. What would we do if we faced that same threat...it really could happen.

 I was glad I saw the movie and if anything it did make me think about the very fine line there is between belief in God and ...NOTHING. It did lay on my heart and mind to wonder if I was faced with any of these scenarios would I be bold to give up everything to proclaim God is alive. I hope if I'm ever faced with that conundrum that I'd know resoundingly what to do.

It did make me feel sad for apathy and a blurring or greying of lines that make the choice between God and comfort easy and somewhat thoughtless.

I also wondered if I didn't already have a firm foundation that God exists and is alive and answering prayers and has a plan - would I find this movie just a little too easy? That within 1:53 hours I would have a heart stirring to seek something more about the God of the universe. Sadly in this cynical age (and maybe I'm too much of a cynic...i just don't see this somewhat stereotypical cheesy reaching the unconverted.)

I did appreciate the arguments Josh brought to class and the simplicity of sticking to scripture that the pastor gave. And creation arguments always fascinate me. Even if the preachers inability to start his car was a little cheesy - it made me smile to hear the phrase...God is good...all the time and all the time God is good.

So many people jump on the bandwagon to say this movie is awesome. I can't imagine this review will sway anyone to run over to redbox to rent it.

 I so wanted to like this movie.

But aside from the encouragement that someone is keenly standing up to defend their faith and proclaiming God is alive I really can only give it 2 1/2 stars.

It might have gotten 3 because it did entertain me for almost 2 hours, except they had to fit the guy from Duck Dynasty smack dab in the center of it and aside from making this a bit more "commercial" there really wasn't any good reason to do that.

I did have an epiphany though - what if one small choice, one conversation points someone to consider God's alive. Something they might never have considered. You don't really need some great testimony. It helps to have a few scriptures in your back pocket to point to the foundation of belief. We must be authentic in relationship with each other and I firmly believe the questions you may have might not be quite so complicated if we truly understood the simplicity in believing in God.

Can you answer the question

“When your faith is tested, can you explain what you believe?”

Red Box Review: The King's Speech

I've always been interested in the spoken word.  Maybe it stems from my years on speech team. Or maybe it's because i enjoy listening to words, reading them or maybe it's just because communicating has always been important to me.  (I've been told sometimes that I can't shut up and that even in these notes or on my blog that I write too much and who really cares anyhow...)
But what if you had an impediment that made you feel inferior and you knew that you needed to lead your country into a wartime.  You needed to be confident but just didn't have confidence you knew how to do that.

Enter a stranger who becomes a friend and together you craft a story that allows itself to reach into the corners of your confidence and pull itself up by it's bootstraps.

That's the story of the King's Speech, I think.  I'll admit it was a little slow of a movie for me and I started multitasking so maybe I didn't catch the whole storyline.

What I did catch is a story that does deserve the accolades it was given during this last oscar season.  I can see why Collin Firth won the oscar.  Nearer to the end I was pulled in and stopped doing anything else and actually concentrated on the movie.  It would be great if some time when our confidence is dragging that we could find a faithful friend to believe in us like Geoffrey Rush's character.

I'll admit again that I have issues with accents in movies.  This wasn't so bad - not as thick a brogue as it could have been.

I will say that at the very beginning and at the very end of the movie they have text on the screen.  I have pretty decent eyesight but could not read it without getting really super close to the screen.  I guess the filmmakers considered it from the standpoint of a really large movie screen.  I'm not so interested in what it said, but it really bugs me when I feel old and unable to do something simple like read a screen.  Guess it's not as difficult as not being able to deliver a speech to your countrymen. I could have hit rewind or gotten up off my couch and move closer to the screen, but I really didn't care enough about what it said to bother.

three stars...it was okay and I'm glad I watched it but it was kind of slow.

MOVIE REVIEW: ADMISSIONS

Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in this movie about a Princeton Admissions Counsellor (Fey) who is approached by a teacher about one of his students who is brilliant, but not the best student and wants to go to Princeton.

Fey seems stuck in a rut and nothing seems to really go right for her. While I thought there was chemistry between the two, it just seemed sort of halfway there. Or maybe it just seemed too easy to fall in love?

I so wanted to really love this movie but in the end, some of the actions of Fey to get the boy into Princeton just seem so beneath her character and not really that funny.

2 stars

Movie Review: 500 Days of Summer

I knew going into this movie that the girl didn't get the guy. All the reviews said it. Heck the first line of the movie pretty much says it's not a love story.

This movie is the story of Tom who is a greeting card writer but really would love to be an archetict. He meets summer at work.

Summer is played by Zoey Duschenel. She is beautiful. A free spirit. And from the beginning of their relationship she was up front and honest that she didn't do serious. She kept herself separate. She really didn't do love. She was on her own and just wanted to have fun.

But as the days go on and Tom and she get more seriously involved, Tom is getting frustrated because Summer still wants to be casual and doesn't want to define anything - were they boyfriend/girlfriend? Do casual friends have sex and care and share thoughts and feelings and what's so very wrong with wanting to define things anyhow? The role reversal wasn't lost on me and was rather refreshing that it wasn't the girl going through these emotions.

And at the moment around 300 or so days they just stop seeing each other "poof" Summer pulls away for no real defined reason other than ultimately she didn't do serious and just wanted casual eventually sending Tom an e-mail that says she hopes that they can remain friends as she doesn't have many friends.

Fast forward a few weeks and they randomly meet on a train, both heading to the same wedding. They hang out and dance and after all, there's an attraction that was there during the causalness.

Summer invites Tom to a party and from there he learns that within weeks she has fallen in love and has pretty much "defined" love with someone else. The love that she didn't find with Tom, that Tom was so sure was there.

Tom's the one who has all of these notions about love at first sight and destiny and relationship but for all he believes, he really has never expereienced it because he keeps falling for the idea instead of the reality.

His best friend asks if he remembers the whole picture or just the idea of Summer in his head.

And so the movie continues and I won't tell it all so as to not ruin the movie... it's more a commentary about young relationships and the idea of what loving or lusting really appears to be in life. And poses the question of whether men and women really can be friends? And whether some people (maybe myself included) are merely in love with the idea of love and sometimes with the wrong person.)

This movie jumped around a lot and was quirky. One of those movies that suddenly has a dance number and does a lot of screen shots where the main character talks to the audience to tell the story.

It wasn't a bad movie. People seem to really like it so you might like it too?

**1/2 / 5 stars

Julie & Julia: The Movie Review

**** / ***** (4 of 5 stars)

A few years ago we stopped at the Smithsonian and toured Julia Child's kitchen. I was fascinated by the story of the lengths Paul went through to design the kitchen for Julia. While I have no desire to cook my way through the french cookbook, I think the story resonated with me so much because I understand the hero worship that Julie had for this woman.

Nora Ephron captures the nuances of relationship better than most directors I enjoy. It's not in anything really flashy but it is in the small gestures like a pat on the head before bed or a cuddle or this scene in the movie where Julie finds out that Julia might not like her and there is a progression of several quick scenes where Julie's husband is there supporting her with love and encouragement sitting crosslegged on a bed.

I also liked the fact that Nora was able to tell two stories. Entertwined they made each story richer. Like bread and butter almost.

Julie and Julia is a movie about a soon to be 30-year old Julie (played brilliantly by Amy Adams) who just doesn't think she's done anything with her 30-year old self so she decides to blog her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Along the way she learns to cook, but more importantly she finds joy.

This movie was based off a book by the same name and I have to admit I read the book before seeing the movie and the book doesn't exactly cover near as much of the ecessence of Julia Child's story. It was almost as if Nora took a look at the story and decided to merge in bits and pieces from a few other memoirs of Julia Child to help round out the story and I really think it was well done. It helped draw parallels to Julia and Julie that were somewhat missing from reading the book.

Meryl Streep plays Julia Child brilliantly as well. She was julia - not just Meryl playing Julia. For such an iconic character, it was well done and not over the top - right down to the shoulder hunch.

Much of my childhood was spent at my grandmother's house and on Saturday afternoons we would set up the tv and watch the frugal gourmet and julia child. Oma would get so upset that Julia would take her fingers and taste everything or dip a spoon and taste and double dip the spoon again. In watching this movie, I too am reminded of my grandmother's personality and I've landed on the conclusion that Julia Child and my grandmother might have been cut from the same cloth as Oma used to not censor herself and pretty much just told it like she saw it. She also enjoyed cooking and experiments often just went awry but Oma would just go with the flow and piece something together.

I enjoyed the idea that this was about a blog too. Many people don't understand the idea of writing in a blog. Why do we send our thoughts and hopes and dreams out to srangers? That part just cracked me up, because I get asked that quite a bit. Much like foodies savor a flavor and it sends a memory to the soul I think a crafted sentence might do the same thing for those people who enjoy writing. You really don't think anyone is going to read but the joy in crafting a sentence might just be fun to share.

I enjoyed this movie for so many reasons (including seeing it with my dear friend Amy) but ultimately it comes down to this very simple thought: joy needs to be savored but to get the right flavor, I think true joy needs to be shared.

DVD REVIEW: NEW IN TOWN

New in Town - starring Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr is a stereotypical small town minnesota movie about a out of town manager who comes in to "fix" a blue collar small town plant and in turn somehow finds her heart.

The minnesotan accents were funny but at times a little too overdone. And some of the "factual things" like New Ulm and Rochester being a close 1-hour drive seems a bit far fetched. I tend to love Harry Connick Jr. Ever since Hope Floats, he can be a leading man and I'll typically buy it. This time though I didn't really get his whole story and it was a bit too quick of a meeting and falling in love that just didn't really work for me.

But then again, I'm not entirely sure I know anything about love anyhow.

However I did laugh in parts and it was light hearted enough that I'll give it two stars. Kind of reminded me of those romance movies that the Hallmark channel sometimes airs.

DVD Review: Last Chance Harvey

Being alone is hard. But often it is the choices we make in life that allow us to linger there. Embracing loneliness as a lifeline to avoid hearts being broken or perhaps learning the truth about ourselves. While we lament in the disappointment that life isn't different, we hang on to it as it's the space we are most comfortable.

The movie is about Harvey (Dustin Hoffman) who is in London to attend his daughter's wedding. Harvey had lost touch with his daughter. He explained that it happened so gradually that one day she just wasn't part of his life. He embodies a vulnerability that he's an embarassment to his divorced family and sort of accepts that is his role in their life.

Harvey is a muscian, turned jingle writer who seems lost there as well. As if merely going through the motions even though his heart is somewhere else playing piano in a jazz club somewhere.

Kate does something at an airport which I chalked off to being some sort of surveyor? She has a mother who calls her all the time, she takes courses at a school, her friends all try to set her up with nice guys but in the end...without any words of the script, Emma Thompson delivers brilliantly the idea that she feels sadly alone.

The movie is slow. And like the piano music filling the background, it meanders. For a love story it was realistic because it wasn't really about a relationship as a whole but about taking a chance on possibility. I tried to wonder if Dustin Hoffman was too old for Emma Thompson but I thought he was just right for this role.

Not sure what I was looking for in recommending this movie. It was a good story but not the most interesting script. I think I like it more for what qualities it tugs in my own illusions rather than some sort of cinematic brilliance.

3 stars out of 5 for a friendly sort of movie, predictable in places and sort of slow, but still pretty well done.

Movie Review Weekend

Hanna Montana: The Movie

I've receive a lot of ribbing for the very idea that I saw this movie, let alone in a movie theater. It was a rated G movie and was like an extended episode of Hanna Montana the tv show. What I really can't understand is how Disney thinks so little of the "people" in the outskirts of this show to propose that by adding a blond wig and having the audicity to sing "best of both worlds" that no one can tell the difference between Miley Stewart and Hanna Montana...even after several years on tv.

I admit that I do sometimes watch the tv show. It's cute in a saved by the bell sort of way.

The storyline isn't that spectacular...imagine this Hanna Montana has become too spoiled so her dad (who should just stick to singing instead of trying to act) kidnaps her back to her hometown in Tennessee, which surprise surprise, is threated to be taken over by a big bad builder and *gasp* they are going to build a mega mall.

Insert a few insanely contrived pratfalls a-la mousetrap or Home Alone humor for the tweenybopper set and a big song finale at the end and you have yourself a movie.

Oh and since Hanna is now getting older, she has a love interest. It was amusing to listen and watch the tween sets in the movie theater gasp and sway whenever he was on screen, but they didn't over exploit that relationship much more beyond a first date sweet sort of crush.

There's a really sweet song between hanna and her dad, which I could totally see being a wedding dance song for single fathers who raise their daughters and I sort of like the song climb, but Miley's voice kind of bugs me.

All in all I give the movie at 2 3/4 rating...it was good but probably could have waited til the debut on the disney channel.

_______________________

I also rented a few redbox movies this afternoon:

The Women

Ugh...slow movie. I started watching and had hopes for this movie. It looked like a decent cast but boy, what a clunker. In fact I probably missed about 1/2 an hour because I dozed off. It's about a group of women whose lives are intermingled and I guess explores the relationship of women and friendships or acquaintances and what happens when confidences are betrayed. That makes four movies that Meg Ryan has done lately that have just annoyed me.

1/2 a star.

Madagasgar 2

This movie too was a disappointment. I just couldn't follow the story line and I guess I just liked the first one a whole lot better. It was still good...just not great.

3 stars.

DVD Review: Princess Bride

For an avid fan of romantic movies, and for the very idea that even though it's been out since 1987 and for the very idea that I even used to play Storybook Love on Sunday Nite Softly on KQ and ultimately for the very fact that I know more than a few people who have similar movie likes/dislikes that list this as one of their favorite romantic movies...yes, I admit that it was until tonight, that I have never seen Princess Bride.

So there are a few learnings from this movie:

What is love and how is the bond of love built?  What would you do for love?  How much would you suffer? 

Chocolate coating makes things go down easier

I do not like large rodents.  Or creepy eels.

If you need to add humor to a situation try a rhyme like peanut.

When fighting in a swordfight, it's almost just as important to be able to do backflips and gymnastics as it is to fight with both hands.

Anyone can fall a giant and eventually he may work to save your life and fight for your true love.

Even if you think it may be over...it may not be.

I miss both of my grandpas.  Even if they never really told me stories, they did other things that made me know as a little girl that I was loved.  I wish I remembered more.

It's important to share stories with children and little boys should appreciate passion as much as the pirates.

Long live Wesley and Buttercup...and I'll use small words....love wins.

4 1/2 stars of 5.

Movie Review: He's So Not Into You

**1/2 stars out of 5 (or 5 1/2 stars out of 5 stars for the one blog reader who says I always grade movies far too harshly.)

I've been sick. So today was a special treat to actually be out of the house around noon and head to a matinee. It also made me smile that we went to the movie that Brian knew I wanted to see and even though he said he wanted to see it too, I'm sure being only one of two men in the theater was a sure sign that he might be humoring the sick friend just a little. Anyhow...I might give the movie just an extra star for Brian's effort to make me smile today in that not only did he invite me out, knowing full well I might still be contagious, but he also brought a stack of movies he thought I might like to help me "rest" because I was just complaining the other day of the poor selection of television viewing. Anyhow...he get's a gold star and a blog mention, even though I'm sure he'll hate that.

So I guess the summary of the movie is that men and women just don't communicate the same way and that some people are more clued in than other as to whether men are "into" women or women are "into" men.

There's are about 12 different storylines. A few of which were ridiculously flimsy and hardly worth mentioning (Drew Barrymore) and a few others that just dragged on so long that you might say to yourself...ya ya ya...get on with it already.

And sure, I've played into the whole when do you call or not call or stalk people on facebook or stare at the phone or check to make sure the dial tone still works or...well...sure, dating and men in particular are difficult to read. How do you know if a guy is into you?

There were a few cute moments and a couple of sweet romantic things but for all practical purposes...you could rent it.

The only buyable romantic spark really was justin long's character and ginnifer's character but it just took so long to get there that ...well the spark was more like a faint flickr.

Ah and maybe ben affleck and jennifer anniston's characters...maybe...but the rest was just not developed real well or even very believable. And well...again it's one of those sex in the city unrealistic 30-somethings who all have chic apartments and houses but their love lives are all messed up.

Also again the totally together "married couple" cheats. As if this is the only option.

Also I'm not entirely sure if I'm left with the idea that what they are really saying is that the only thing single women really want is to be married. Also they didn't really sell the idea that most men are happy after getting married either...so...I guess stereotypes live on and hours later, I'm not entirely sure there was much of a story there.

I know I know...it's a movie....but still....

Also, boy we went to the Oakdale Carmike and there had to have been at least 45 minutes of setup before the movie started between, commercials and commercials for the digital projectors and commercials for people to get more popcorn and commercials...and we saw the previews for Harry Potter (which looks pretty good but isn't out until July), Land of the Lost (which could be good or very very bad), some other movie about infidelty, and Confessions of a Shopaholic (which I already deemed a redbox maybe rental...)

Needless to say.... thanks to Brian for the fun early afternoon out of the house...stay tuned for a week's worth of DVD reviews....

DVD Review: Swing Vote

In light of Minnesota's recent senate race the idea of having one vote matter actually seems a bit more real. Kevin Costner plays a somewhat down on his luck drunk dad who has custody of a daughter who really is quite smart and thoughtful. She really wants her dad to participate in the voting process and so asks him to meet her at the polling place.

He doesn't show up and the polling place is closing. The election judge is sleeping and the other person conveniently goes into the other room to clean, so the little girl sneaks in, signs in, grabs the ballot and heads to the video voting booths.

At which point the person I was watching the movie turns to me ands says "They have video voting booths in Texaco New Mexico and we get handed a pencil and a piece of paper?"

Yep, that pretty much sums up most of this movie. Which seemed to just make it too easy for the voting process or even the re-voting process to be tainted.

I didn't really buy the characters playing the president or their political counterparts and their advisors were equally lame. And maybe I'm just comparing it to a movie like DAVE where overthrowing the political process seemed a bit more clever.

Also there was a side story maybe sort of romance that just never developed between costner, the daughter and a townie reporter. Also I thought the character played by George Lopez was just a waste of airspace.

It was worth a dollar in redbox to see but um...I give it 1 star. The story really just didn't go anywhere and it wasn't really that funny.

DVD Review: Tropic Thunder

This is a movie spoofed to make fun of self absorbed actors. I figured that I was probably one of the few people in this country who hasn't seen this movie because of the talk when robert downey jr. or ben stiller was up for a golden globe.

The gang ends up on the set of an over-budget remake of a book about war. Method acting gets in the way of causing them to ruin a 4 million dollar scene and from there the actors are thrown into a real life "war" that they think is fake to help them act better when really they are merely acting their way out of a real heroin/drug operation that they stumbled upon in their journey out of the jungle.

We decided to watch this movie while eating dinner. Which for the first few scenes, probably wasn't the best idea if you are at all squeemish. Luckily I am not. Over the top bloody ropes to make it look like intestines were quite over the top but to some, I imagine it might be um gross.

I can surely see why people were talking about Robert Downey jr. he was hardly recognizable even when he switched back to being australian.

There were a lot of other cameos that were well done.

I probably won't add the video to my film collection but if you just want something to do that makes you not think for an hour and forty minutes, it's not too bad. I will warn you though, that for those people who are easily offended, this movie does play to some rather obnoxious stereotypes and language that might be offensive to some people.

We laughed, and that was good enough for a bitterly cold friday night.

And because I know there is one person who is curious to what I grade this movie - I have to be true to my scoring method and give it 2 and 3/4 stars. Mostly because of the way I've scored other movies to date...this just didn't seem as good as the others I've given three stars to so unless I head back and rescore all the others, 2 3/4 stars it is.

It's funny, in the overthetop, why am I laughing at this crude somewhat offensive sort of way. And it is originial.

Movie Review - Gran Turino

We saw Gran Turino last night. I'd give it a standard three star rating.

It's not that it was that bad of a movie and the storyline was pretty decent in a sort of modern day grumpy old guy living in a changing neighborhood hates everyone but finds his heart somewhere along the journey sort of way.

Everyone has been gushing about Bee Vang - the hmong twin cities teenager that never acted before and landed his role. While I thought he played a good character, I also thought he wasn't that great and kind of wooden, and maybe that's merely a portrayal of the hmong not wanting to look people in the eye but I guess I just didn't buy it.

There also was a stereotypical priest in the movie that kind of irritated me too. Although it did paint a good picture of one thing that I really always just find a little annoying. Door to door churchpeople who don't really relate at all to the people that they are talking to. In the end I think the priest figured out how to relate to walt but ...

There is a good amount of racial slurs in this movie which made me overanalyze whether supporting this movie encourages the idea that people should talk like that. I'm hardly naive however there were points in the movie where I think the theater was laughing more uncomfortably than because of anything funny really going on.

I laughed. I cried. It was an interesting few hours. But I'd wait for Redbox, if you don't feel like running out right away.

Movie Review: Yes Man

** (two stars of five)

We went to see Yes Man as part of a lovely New Year's Eve celebration. While it was a decent movie, again I'd have to say it didn't land in a heap on the best movies I saw in 2008.

What you had was a very similar vehicle as Jim Carrey had for Liar, Liar...the premise being that instead of not being able to lie, this time he merely was convinced from one very unbelieveably sort of lame "tony robbins-like" Yes seminar, that he had accepted a Yes covenanent and in so doing he would have bad luck befall him every time he said no. (A few funny but somewhat predictable sick humor scenes to follow)

His character is one I somewhat identify with. You can sometimes say no or merely seperate yourselves from people and situations merely to avoid building any sort of intimacy, especially after being hurt by someone you trust. It's difficult to overcome that and it is easier to just remove yourself to the sidelines than being in the thick of the game.

The problem comes when you realize that in doing so all you are left with is a shell. Your friends don't know you. You've stopped being involved with all sorts of activities and instead of saying yes to life you've got uncomfortable loneliness.

But there's also something to be said about saying yes. It's got to mean something.

So my advice - just go rent liar, liar...it was a whole lot funnier and wait for this to come to the redbox if you must see it. But I'd wait awhile.

Movie Review: War Inc.

Even for a political satire, War Inc. hardly measures a ½ a star. So in essence from what I understand having spent more than a few hundred minutes watching the movie in the hopes that it would redeem itself…

Cusack plays a hit man who is sent to a US occupied foreign Country (referred to and sounding amazingly like IRAQI) to kill Omar Sharif. His “cover” for being in the country is that he is a trade show producer. (which could have been a little funnier.) Joan Cusak plays his partner (much like her character in Gross Point Blank but less funny.)

Hillary Duff is an over-sexed stereotypical rock star who is hosting a wedding as part of the trade show. (Yes, I KNOW…easy to follow right?)

Every single actor has a different sort of accent except for John Cusack. Cusack’s character is tormented. He drinks hot sauce. He spouts Cusack-like philosophical phrases about war. There is no chemistry between he and tomei’s character. You don’t really understand why he’s tormented and he talks to this computer in his car and airplane (ah-la Kitt from Knight Rider.)

There’s an underlying current to the satire that journalists covering war are manipulated by the government with imbedded computer chips in their brains.

In the end – will Cusack succeed in killing Omar Sharif? Will Duff’s character marry someone who will exploit her? Will there be another war?

I kept hoping the movie would make sense. I kept hoping that it was just me and a higher expectation for John Cusack movies that sadly has been dwindling since the movie American Sweethearts.

The only redemption for the movie was the pizza and the company on the couch sitting next to me. (Not necessarily in that order.)

Dun da dan daaaaa dun da da DUN ...

MOVIE REVIEW: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

**** of 5 stars (almost genius if but a wacky storyline)

Indiana Jones is back and is brought into a quest for this Crystal Skull by his son Mutt. The rest of the story is a tad far-fetched.

In the past I've been fascinated by the combination of archaeological pseudo-storytelling, the quest for treasure and of course the running into trouble and Indy just figuring out a way to cleverly get out. This however was a bit too X-files for my tastes. Which is why I couldn't score the movie five stars.

It did however keep me entertained and considering the director, I could overlook a bit of fantasy...or was it?

Could this really have happened? Yeah, I'm a bit skeptical, much like the Indiana Jones character is about most of his quests.

I heard an interview with Harrison Ford that one of the reasons why this movie took forever to make was he just wasn't comfortable with the sheer premise of the quest. If you've seen the movie, can you just imagine what the original script might have been like? OH BOY!

I didn't have a whole lot of preconceived notion going into this movie that I would love it. I did enjoy the trailer so I figured it would be entertaining.

What I have enjoyed about the Indiana Jones movies in the past was the sheer fantasy and set decoration and the fairly fantastic sequences where you just go "woah, what a brilliant eye steven spielberg must have".

There were a few of those. Unfortunately with sequels, you just lose a bit of the "aura of WOW" when you compare action scenes from previous movies to what you are currently watching.

Of course rocks must move - why else would John Williams music be playing in the background?

I did jump out of my seat once or twice...there's this scene where there's this wall and well, you just have to understand that I tend to get lost in movies so I jump sometimes at sudden things. (I think I scared the seriously odd random single guy who sat next to me in the relatively empty movie theater. When the movie theater is empty do you pick the same row and sit one seat away from the only person in the theater? I know I should have asked, but the trailers were already running. Seriously lame trailers too...)

I did have to close my eyes once or twice. I'm a tad squeemish when it comes to bugs.

Didn't the gopher at the beginning of the movie remind you of Caddyshack? Or was it just me?

I did get tired of the whole Ruskie/Red storyline. And they probably could have done without about 15 minutes of fight scenes.

Aside: Is there seriously a movie you can remember where Harrison Ford doesn't have to talk through a bloody mouth? Air Force One? Regarding Henry? Six Days Seven Nights? Heck, even Sabrina he gets punched in the mouth...I'm just saying...enough with the blood packets Harrison we know you've mastered talking through bloody teeth and it ain't pretty.

They could have lobbed off the ending and had a pretty fine movie. Although then you wouldn't have the whole allusion to the Young Indiana Jones sequels coming to a theater near you. (I can also see a nifty water ride coming to a theme park too.)

I wouldn't bring small children. I might even go so far as to say there are a few scenes with dead things and fights that just shouldn't be shared with tweeny's either. However for $4.00 a ticket, it isn't a bad way to spend two hours. (Yep, I just missed the Oakdale Ultra Screen so I headed to Woodbury where for under $8.00 I can see a movie, have mini popcorn, mini drink in a relatively clean theater.)

EDITORS NOTE: For perspective, apparently this movie is truly getting mixed reviews. Brother Jer who is a big Indiana Jones fan and he said he would rate this 4th outta 4 and probably wouldn't see it again. "It wasn't terrible, but the formula was too simple. It was too easy. They just solved things too easily. The skull solved everything. Even the action sequences - they just started and were solved rather easily." Ah well, like I said to him, at least it was somewhat entertaining for a couple of hours. Maybe it's best to not have expectations that it's going to be great so you aren't disappointed?

Movie Review: Juno
**** of 5

Not quite the perfect movie I'd want to watch over and over again, however it was a pretty decent story and in the vague and overwhelming sense that this weekend has had me really pondering the idea of what love really means -- this movie was a keen illustration for that very topic.

And now for some reason I'm humming that Haddaway song "What is Love?" and I really need it out of my head...

I did enjoy the clever banter and I appreciated the fact that the parents were supportive of a crummy situation. We have enough "after school specials" to last a lifetime of teenage pregnancy that this seemed to be a refreshing look at the topic.

I can see why Ellen Page received all the awards she did - although much of her success I think was due to an clever script but it was all delivered quite believably.

MOVIE REVIEW: IRONMAN

*** stars

I have to admit that I really only had a lukewarm desire to see this movie (mostly because Robert Downey Jr. is somewhat nice to look at and I wanted to see Gweneth again on the big screen.)

The story line was a tad slow for me, a really long set up but once the actual ironman appeared it started speeding up. I thought the effects were pretty cool, surely the iron man suit was pretty nifty (except for the face mask which was a tad creepy) and the storyline was okay...

Admittedly my brother Jer has every Ironman comic book known to man. It has been his favorite comic book character by far since we were 8 years old. I guess that's the other reason I wanted to go to the movie - just to see what the mystery was all about. It fit to theory of why Jerry loves this character - find a problem and fix it with some sort of computer technology. That is my brother personified.

Robert Downey Jr. was pretty decent and Gweneth played her role of doting assistant with a restrained believable grace. You can totally see Ironman 2 in the makes already.

The only thing I did think was that this movie again was not filmed with children in mind and yet in front of us was a row of 8 year olds and coming out of the movie was a few five year olds. Just because it says comic book, I don't think people should automatically bring their children.

All in all, it wasn't nearly as painful as sitting through the Hulk movie, or that last really silly superman movie but it still doesn't beat spiderman in my book. *** (three stars out of five, mostly for the ironman "outfit" and some of the storyline.)