Word of the Day

Smarmy -\ˈsmär-mē\ - Adjective 1 : revealing or marked by a smug, ingratiating, or false earnestness 2 : of low sleazy taste or quality

Next

Next is a Nicolas Cage movie. Not one of his better movies... My son thought this was a pretty good movie. It was in my eh soso category. I watched this movie just because it was on and am glad I didn't have much expectation for it. With no expectation, I was able to enjoy the movie. Besides the tid-bit that Cage's hair drove me nuts (I know it's petty and I'm sorry) but there wasn't anything particularly outstanding in this movie.

If it's on or you happen on it - give it a try and post your opinion. Not sure if I'd make a special effort for it though.

Death Race

Three words - Complete fricken' carnage.

Not a whole lot of story here, but a whole lot of action. You want to see a loud, smash filled, anything goes car race movie??? This is it. There is some blood and guts but not bad. Just a ton of thrashing about.

Carnage, carnage and.... ah... mmm men. Very hot men.

The Dark Knight

Wow! Brilliant... brilliant. This movie was so good. Heath Ledger is very missed but this was a brilliant finale for such a versatile wonderful actor who was just getting started.

If it is not too late in your area - this is definitely a movie that should be seen on the big screen. Don't even think about trying figuring out movie while watching. It's not as predictable as one might think. Not a moment of disappointment, not a moment of boredom between action scenes. Not as "dark" a story as I had been lead to think by other reviews, even that was just dark enough... but not so much to leave you feeling drained when you left the theatre. Just sit back and watch, sit back and take it all in.

This was a brilliant follow-up to Batman Begins and it will be a tough movie to continue on from. I hope for another installment. This is movie left the new "Batman" franchise headed in such a different and awesome direction than any other "Batman" franchise (for lack of a better word) it would be a shame to loose it now. The more I sit here and think and write this... all I can think is just the one word... Brilliant.

Howl's Moving Castle

Ok... I need a Thesaurus so I stop using the same few words every time I really like a flick... but I REALLY like this flick. To date - I like everything that Hayao Miyazaki has done. I think I've seen all that have been made to English and a few with subtitles.

Granted, yes, this is an animated movie... a cartoon. However, his stories are so compelling and the animation so detailed and breathetaking that you easily get past it being a "kiddie cartoon" because your so caught up in the story.

As with most Miyazaki films, this story finds the characters in the midst of a struggle and in this case there is also a war, a war that the lead character and friends are trying to... live through and dealing with it all as best they can. Magic, comedy, adventure, a twist and a turn... you've got one good movie.

Worth a watch - I have yet to meet a person who didn't like it. Even my mom liked it and that surprised me... it's not sure why it did but it did.

Stardust

Well, after my post of Lake Placid... I was determined to post a good one.

I really enjoy this movie. It is one of my comfort movies. My feel good movie (among others).

I like the fantasy of it all. It is an escape. An escape that has romance, comedy, adventure, sibling rivalry, etc. This movie has all of the elements of a good fantasy. Right up to a "happily ever after".

Eyes balls in a jar (that bit cracks me up every time), a kiss, a damsel in distress, the hope of a kiss, Robert De Niro in ... watch and see (that's worth it right there), magic, oh I forgot where I was going with this bit.

It's a nice story to relax to at the end of a bad day - it takes you away even if only for a little bit.

Lake Placid

OH MY GOD... I'm sitting here with the TV on (what else in new - pretty typical for me)... Happy Feet just finished on HBO and I'm not really paying attention to the TV it's just noise. Surfing the web reading other blogs and what not. I look up to see this "scuba" diver in a lake with a cute little turtle swimming by. Self I say - Thank you Trisha for that phrase (I can not claim it as my own) - self I say, what movie is this? Something new to blog about maybe? Oh geesh this is so lame I wasn't even going to bother... but decided that no, I need to blog this... the point of this blog was to give my opinion good or bad.

THIS IS BAD!!! On so many levels. I don't even know where to begin. All I can think is that HBO must have been REALLY desperate for anything to fill a time slot. I never saw this in the theatre (thank god - I'd have been mad for the waste of money) I never saw it because I thought this was a horror flick! This is pathetic. An alligator - strike that - a GIANT alligator in a lake in Maine???? Come on. Ok I'm done here -- don't bother with this one. You want fake but classic -- see Jaws again. I loosely catagorize this waste of film according to the listing on IMDB.

Vantage Point

OOOOOOO yeah... I liked this one. I will warn you - because if someone hadn't told me I'd have been irritated...... This movie "rewinds" something like 5 times... everytime it rewinds it focuses on another character for the same period of time you just watched. The part that would have gotten on my nerves was the actual rewind... in the theatre it actually started to give me a headache. Just know it is a necessary piece, believe it or not, to the flow of the movie.

Just when you think you've got this movie all figured out and claimed "predictable" - it rewinds. Granted - Dennis Quaid is on my love actor list - Matthew Fox is earning his way to it even though... DOH! I almost gave it away... shame shame on me! Zipped lip. Gotta stop on this one or I'll give it away! Simply said add this to your Netflix list. You'll want, no need to watch it more than once.

There Shall Be Blood

Ummm.... Hmm.... Not sure what to say about this movie. Left me feeling drained and depressed. I feel like I should like this movie simply because I am supposed to being that it is an Oscar nominee/winner. I was left puzzled by the story... Or lack of... and it left me wanting more... or at least some understanding of what the heck was going on. I don't think of myself as a stupid person, but I just didn't get this movie. Maybe I was looking for something more complex just because Daniel Day Lewis was in this and instead it just was what it was... plain and simple. If that even makes sense. I just didn't get it.

If you watch this movie and get it... let me know what I missed.

Arte Y Pico

I wish to start by thanking Tanya (Rose) of Teen Autism for awarding my blog Movies 'N Stuff an award Arte Y Pico! Thank you so much Tanya (Rose)!! I feel rather silly about this morning. When reading another's blog - be sure to read the WHOLE entry ;) I am humbled and honored for your consideration.

Now, more about the award! The marvelous thing about it is that you pass it on! Here are the rules, per the official Arte y Pico site:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award, creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award-winning, has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winning and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5) To show these rules.

In keeping with the rules :) below is my list of blogs that I wish to pass this award onto -

Crazy Days and Nights - being that I'm a celeb gossip hound, I can get plenty of dirt here.

Cheerful Scoop - because one always needs a place to find "good" news.

Dave Durante's Olympic Journey - may your journey continue and lead you to the "floor".

Lainey's Entertainment Update - yet again - my celeb gossip fix - this time from Canada.

A Slice of Cherry Pie - I have just discovered this, but I see myself spending a lot of time going through this blog.

Thank to Tanya (Rose) for passing this on to me and thank you to everyone for taking the time to read my blog.

Something To Talk About

God I love this movie... Amazing cast, horses and good-looking men... what more do I need to say?

Yeah I know that's not everything in the world, but it's a start.

Originally released in 1995. It's about cheating, lying, family, reconciliation, and finding your own way. What starts out as not necessarily a strong woman, she finds strength as the story progresses in herself and in her family in a better way than the way it was.

HAHAHA makes me laugh every time. The unsung hero of this movie - Kyra Sedgwick as Emma Rae is great. She gets all the best one liners and her delivery is perfect.

Transformers

Yeah yeah yeah... I'm the occasional geek. I watch this movie all the time. Doesn't hurt that HBO has it on all the time right now... but that doesn't matter - shouldn't come as a shock to most of you that I have this on DVD. My DVD collection is pretty extensive... or at least compared to anyone I know... but not necessarily up to date anymore.

That's another blog. This one is about Transformers and not my collection. I didn't know what to expect going into this. But I liked it. Felt myself getting excited during the movie as things happened, cheered for the good guys, was right in there with the die hard Transformer fans taking it all in and conversing like I'd followed this for years.

It sure isn't the same as the Transformer cartoons I saw when I was a kid... but it was good. The CG was great. Obviously you can't see it on the big screen anymore, but if you in the mood for an action movie with the occasional laugh - watch this movie. Can't wait for the next one to come out.

Gee I'm not a mom of a teenager am I - movies about cars and hot girls??? yeah... um... *shakes head* Don't worry - I take them to the occasional girlie movie - Mama Mia.

2 Fast 2 Furious

Waste of time. I haven't seen the first movie (Fast and the Furious) but I have seen the third (Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift). I liked Tokyo Drift - especially the sound track... but this movie was a waste of an hour and a half. Very little story line, animated car races, blah blah blah... All good actors, could have been something good... but it just died on the vine. Don't bother with this one. Pretty cars and short skirts (and not many of those) for the boys but that's about it. The cars don't even do anything. The races are obviously animated.

Ugh.....

Michael Clayton

This is definitely a movie to watch on DVD - I've had to go back several times because there are so may little things that's easy to miss but that are important.

It's an Erin Brockovich type story but more twisted - darker. How on earth Tilda Swinton won an Oscar for her role in this movie is beyond me. It's not that she's that bad - because she's not - it's that she's BARELY in the movie. She's not in it enough to know if she's good or not. George on the other hand - he's the lead - and he's fabulous. Yet another actor I adore and will see any movie he's in because he's in it no matter how small the role.

It's a movie about people more than a law suit, but the law suit is the heart of the situation. The law suit is always there, but some how not in the focus like other "lawyer" movies.

It had a slow beginning, but once it hooked me that was it. I was sucked in to the end. Not exactly a feel good movie. But I like it... liked how it ended. Well done.

Murphy's Romance

This is an oldie (1986) but a goodie. I haven't seen this in ages and watched the other night.

I can't put my finger on a single reason why I love this movie... but I do.

I love the cast first - and I love how Sally's character is trying to be a strong woman. She's trying to pick up the pieces, move on, take care of her boy and provide a good home... but like life - it doesn't always go as planned. She's smart, cute and not afraid to put it out there. It's just funny... I love the banter and chemistry between Sally Field and James Garner. And geesh - I didn't know that the kid in this movie was Corey Haim - pre-teen idol days... Learn something new every day ;)

Horses, men, and funny romance... what more does a woman need???

Wanted

Good flick! Couple of spots threw me for a loop and that's saying something. I've seen so many movies at this point that most don't shock me but I do enjoy them.

This was a good flick. Love the red car at the beginning. Anybody know what that is - post a comment and let me know. The effects were good. Story wasn't the greatest, but it flowed. Beginning, middle and and end. Couple of twists along the way but didn't leave you hanging or scratching your head at the end.

I've never really seen anything with James McAvoy before, but he's not bad. I'll watch more movies just for him. Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie I just LOVE. I don't think either has done a movie I didn't like... so to have them together in a movie made it all the better.

Get Smart

Ok... First I apologize - I've been watching movies and not keeping up with blogging them....

So - Get Smart - this movie was funny. It was not a "remake" like I thought it was going to be... It was more like a continuation into modern day. Steve Carell's character has similarities to the original Smart - but he pays tribute of sorts to the old.

This was a fun movie and it made me laugh. It was better than I thought it was going to be. I was hesitant to go see it because I grew up watching Get Smart as a kid and I didn't want a movie to spoil my memories of the show. But it didn't, it was not a disappointment. It's not something you HAVE to see on the big screen, but it is a fun movie to see at some point.

Mama Mia!

HILARIOUS!!! Completely hilarious! Saw this tonight with my son and my mom. We all laughed most of the way through this and more than an hour later we are still laughing and talking about this.

Had no idea Meryl could sing - she's better than I expected in that department. Pierce was perfectly awful. Or should I rephrase that to perfect and awful. He played the part perfectly and was not exactly the best singer of the bunch as I'm sure you've already read in other reviews and blogs but that was how that character REALLY needed to be. Amanda Seyfried is a fabulous singer - we WILL see more of her definetly in films/TV and hopefully with music as a singer as well.

The islands of Greece are on my "to visit" list - I'm an ocean freak and the waters in the movie are gorgeous.

This movie is a must see!