Toy Story 3

So we decided to see this movie because hey we're all still kids at heart and it just looked oh so cute. The movie ended up dominating the top spot it's opening weekend, bringing in over $109 million. Here are a few other records this movie now holds;

Toy Story 3 is now the biggest movie to open in the month of June, ever! Beating out Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen which had $108.9 million.

Toy Story 3 is now Pixar's biggest opening movie, beating out it's previous top holders Up with $68 million and 2004's The Incredibles with $70 milion. 

Toy Story 3 came in just behind for the largest opening for an animated film ever to Shrek The Third who brought in $121 million in it's opening weekend.

Okay, so it's obvious without even scrolling down that this movie was more than likely at least cute and entertaining. Basically, that's exactly what it was.

This movie picks up with the toys dealing with their new futures after their owner, Andy, prepares to leave for college.

The plot changes through several different new and exciting locations which keeps the action entertaining throughout. They kept the main characters that everyone really loves and then added some new and funny new characters to keep up the humor. The story is very believable, in keeping with the previous movies, and has some real sentiment towards the end that ashamed as I am of this, almost brought some tears to my eyes.

The animation was beautiful in this movie. The colors were vibrant and the action smooth and flawless.

A lot of the characters really added a lot of humor to this movie. Tim Allen does a really great job as Buzz Lightyear, and even discovers some new hilarious accents along the way. The Ken & Barbie dynamic was ultra hilarious. And as always, the potato heads did awesome.

Overall, this movie was very enjoyable and quite humorous throughout the movie. I'm not exactly sure if I'd see it on my own, without the family, but I was quite entertained while I was there. "C'mon. Let's go see how much we're going for on Ebay" -- Toy Story 3

The Young Victoria

    So I had really wanted to see The Young Victoria, given my affection for period romance dramas and that British history is probably my favorite time period as a history major. I also really liked Emily Blunt in Sunshine Cleaning and My Summer of Love and just loved Rupert Friend as Wickham in Pride & Prejudice (2005). I was expecting to really love this movie and that’s just what happened.



     Queen Victoria is the longest female monarch in history and the longest reigning monarch, male or female, of the United Kingdom . This film is basically a dramatization of her ascension to the throne and pretty much centers around her relationship and love she shares with Prince Albert . It also revolves around her early political moves and relationships behind the advisors and courts that she chooses.


    The plot is actually very historically accurate with a few small dramatizations, which are understandable to add dramatic effect for the film. The plot feels like a story and has a genuine storyline throughout which makes it just awe-inspiring that the screenwriters were able to include all the elements of a great story and stay so true to historical fact at the same time. This is unlike other movies, such as The Other Boleyn girl, which takes pieces of historical fact and then speculates on the missing information and relationships. As a history major, I appreciate movies which either stay close to historical accuracy or at least give a disclaimer of their speculation, which is why I have issues with the movie Braveheart, however I digress. Queen Victoria was one of the most influential and longest running monarchs and only because she is also probably the least controversial that is why we don’t see that many films about her. So this story was really fascinating to me to seen adapted to the screen in this way while also staying true to history and not creating controversy for added suspense.


    The movie was filmed just beautifully and the set design and costumes were breathtaking. This film did win best make-up and best costumes at the BAFTAs and rightly so. It’s really amusing how the costumes are re-used in different movies produced in England and it’s also so interesting to see how and when each one was used. This movie was no different than others in that it borrowed pieces from Pride & Prejudice (2005), Becoming Jane, and Northanger Abbey to name a few. The sets and locations were grand and no detail was left untouched to really give this movie a feel as though it was being filmed during her reign. The soft filter was beautiful and really captured the feel of the movie.


    I must say that Rupert Friend was a main reason I really loved this movie. He was just so captivating and really made the movie that much more appealing for me. This is not to mention that he is also exquisitely handsome and versatile as an actor. He really pulled off being Prince Albert and gave us a deeper look into a very surface character in history and shows us his love for Queen Victoria while at the same time not making him seem too domicile. Emily Blunt also did really well with this role and I wouldn’t say she exactly captured the true essence of Queen Victoria , as she historically wasn’t described as being so lively and jubilant, but she really did make the character her own and gave us depth. I’ve also got to mention Paul Bettany who did such an amazing job as Lord Melbourne that I had no idea it was him until the credits rolled. He really captured that politician and gave him complexity and depth as did most of the other supporting actors in this movie.


    Overall I really enjoyed this movie. It was nice to see a movie about real love and power as opposed to the normal scandal and lust as is often the case with British Monarchs. If this wasn’t true to history, it wouldn’t be believable. All of the elements of the movie really came together and transported us back to the life of British Royalty during that period. I would recommend this to fans of British history or romantic period dramas. It really combines the beautiful filming and captivating love stories of both Pride & Prejudice and The Duchess and I think the fans of these movies would also enjoy this film. “Do you ever feel like a chess piece in a game being played against your will?” - - The Young Victoria

Light of Day

(I actually watched this movie several months ago but just found this review never posted )

    So I’m on this all-things-Joan-Jett-or-The-Runaways kick lately and so naturally I was drawn to Jett’s foray into acting with the movie Light of Day starring Gena Rowlands and Michael J. Fox. I really idolize Jett and love her beginning period back in the 70’s and 80’s and this film was from 1987 and therefore I was excited to see her off stage in a introspective role.



    The movie is written and directed by Paul Schrader, who also wrote Raging Bull, American Gigolo, and Taxi Driver. It follows the dysfunctional family life between the brother and sister duo of Fox and Jett and their mother, Rowlands. Jett plays a single mother who tries her best to raise her son while pursuing the rock n’ roll career she’s always dreamed of. Fox plays her devoted brother and adopted protector of Jett’s son. The movie follows the issues and tensions between the family.


    The plot was actually interesting and heartfelt. The characters were a little more complex than the average 80’s drama and each, especially Jett’s character, had an edge to them. The plot wasn’t extremely gritty and raw but it wasn’t sugar-coated and didn’t have the typical Hollywood ending which I enjoyed. I was also waiting for the plot to come out with a powerful message about parenting at the end, which thankfully it did not. It left it up the viewer to decide how they felt about Jett’s upbringing of her son.


    The movie had the typical 80’s cinematography of the era and was drowning with mullet haircuts left and right. Joan Jett sounded like Joan Jett when she was on stage in the movie and she looked like herself so the sound mixing aspect of the movie and stage scenes were awesome, in the opinion of a Jett fan. Interestingly, the movie was first slated to be the avenue for Bruce Springsteen to break into acting, which he later thankfully decided against so instead he wrote a song to go with the original title, ‘Born in the USA’. Obviously, he liked the song so much he kept it for himself and it became one of his biggest hits to date. So, he wrote another song and a new title was formed for the movie, ‘Light of Day’.


    Michael J. Fox plays his normal self although he’s a little less outgoing and charismatic in this movie than his normal upbeat self. Even with his mullet, he still played the part quite nicely. Gena Rowlands played a character we’ve all seen her play many times over, although at the time, this may have been one of the first. She of course plays the overbearing but loveable mother with ease. The real question comes down to how Joan Jett, bonafide rockstar, does with her first acting role. I really enjoyed watching her performance as this character was obviously written with her in mind. Nobody else would have been able to pull it off. She is always so genuine in everything she does, so it’s impossible for then same quality not to come through with her acting. She has an emotional hospital scene with her mother and pulls it off like a true actress.


    I enjoyed this movie even with the obvious 80’s-ness of the cinematography. It was entertaining and heartfelt at the same time. I would recommend to any Joan Jett fan who hasn’t already seen the movie, or even a Michael J. Fox fan, although he is somewhat subdued in the movie. Other than that, only if you like semi-cheesy 80’s movies, you should stay away. “Music is all that matters. One hour on stage makes up for the other 23” -- Light of Day.

Let the Right One In

    So, I saw this movie as another assignment from my movie exchange. I had actually remembered hearing something about this movie, in relation to the re-make that is being filmed by Cloverfield’s director Matt Reeves with Kick-Ass’ Chloe Moretz in it, when I got the assignment . I was definitely intrigued to see this movie, partly due to my love of vampire movies and/or my love of dark foreign movies.



    The plot is based from a book which is about a twelve year old boy, Oskar, who befriends a young girl who moves in next door. He is a loner himself and has to deal with bullies at school and a working mother. He finds a newfound sense of courage through his friendship with Eli even amidst a new handful of slayings that are taking place all around him. Soon he learns that Eli is actually a 200 year old vampire and his friendship is put to the test.


    The plot actually isn’t that suspenseful. It’s more subdued and about the relationship between the two rather than the action that takes place around them. I bet that this book was a really good read and it’s now officially on my infinite list of books to read someday. The two main characters are really well defined and their relationship is so interesting to watch. They both have motives and reasons for the things they do and the relationship pans out in a very believable way.


    More than the plot in this movie, I really loved the cinematography. All of the camera angles were well thought out and weren’t just stuck in a place to capture the action. There was just the right amount of CGI necessary for a vampire movie, but not too much as is done in some movies to flaunt the effects. There was a fair amount of gore in the movie, but it could’ve been much worse considering. It was really the plot and performances between the two young leads that made this movie memorable, more than the goriness of the killing scenes. The one part that was lacking was the sound editing. The score was so subtle that it was almost invisible in the movie. It felt as if there was no soundtrack and just natural sounds in the movie. I think it made the point that this was about the realistic relationship, but in order to stay entertained it needed some dramatic sound mixing in this movie badly.


    The performances were superb and these were two young Swedish actors! They both really pulled the movie off and it was really all about their relationship. I also liked the performance by Eli’s ‘dad’. I wanted to know more about his motivations when the movie was over.


    This was a great movie. It really left the viewer with a lot of interpretation to do, which is a nice contrast to a lot of fluff movies that spell everything out for you. It also didn’t focus on the dark gore associated with most vampire movies. It was just the right balance. It is a subtitled Swedish movie however and it does run a little slow, which I think is due to the sound editing. I really think this movie has great potential to cross over and especially now that it will be re-made for American audiences. I would recommend to vampire movie lovers and anyone who likes dark foreign movies. “I could stay and die or leave and live” – Let the Right One In.

A-Team

    So I saw the A Team as a part of Movie Mondays, partly because there was nothing else coming out and partly because I wanted to look at Bradley Cooper shirtless. I had also been looking forward to being able to compare this movie with The Losers, although it now seems so long ago I wonder if anyone even remembers that movie came out this summer? The A-Team came in second in it’s opening day weekend coming in behind The Karate Kid and brining less than half of it’s gross earning with only $25 million. In any event, I was entertained for the most part.



    The plot is fairly simple and follows a team of mis-fit Army Rangers with a highly successful mission rate during one last mission in Iraq when they are framed for stealing printing press plates and a billion dollars. They must then work together to save their name. (Much like The Losers). The movie includes the original characters, (apparently) Face, Murdock, Hannibal , and Mr. T/Boscoe.


    Now, the tv series was before my time, so I can’t recognize if the movie was in keeping with the series. I do know that the decision was made to include guns, killing people, and sex (?) in the movie which is a step up from the non-lethal non-gun non-sex tv series. Personally, I think this was a good decision because the audience has grown up and so should the movie. I hate ‘action’ movies where nobody actually dies. They’re all just knocked out in a harmless way. Let’s face it, this is not how things go down in Iraq so I agree with the decision to amp up the violence in the movie. The plot is simple but it does keep you entertained. Although there are a lot of players with different motives which was hard for me to follow in the beginning. When things started to come together towards the end, I then began to realize who everyone was and what their motives were. The plot in the end was semi-believable, although I highly doubt that automobile airbags nailed to a semi could really keep it afloat in a river.


    The cinematography was done nicely with fast paced editing and upbeat sound mixing. Bradley Cooper’s shirtless scenes were shot at the right angles and everything else flowed nicely. The only problem in the movie was the CGI and especially the final sequence. It was just ridiculously fake looking and should have been left out or the scale decreased. Because the effects were so bad in this final scene, the whole suspense and anticipated was removed. So the ending of the movie felt a little anti-climatic to me personally because I was removed from the action and suspense because of this awful effects sequence.


    The movie was actually quite humorous, due to Bradley Cooper, “Rampage” Jackson , and the guy from District 9. They had some really funny bits in the movie, especially Sharlto Copley ( the District 9 guy). I was actually quite surprised as I read he wasn’t an actor before being cast in what would become his critically acclaimed role in District 9 but he really held his own in this movie. “Rampage” Jackson is also apparently a famous UFC fighter and he held his own as well. I’ve been told his portrayal is different from the original but I can’t opine on that. Bradley Cooper was Bradley Cooper. Liam Neeson was not funny and was a little too serious for his role. Bruce Willis was actually considered for this role, and honestly probably would have been a better choice. On the plus side Liam Neeson, ages well and looked good on screen.


    Overall, the movie was entertaining. It wasn’t anything special, amazing, or memorable although it kept my attention long enough in the theater. It would make a great rental choice and my attention was kept in the theater. I have no idea how it compares to the series although it is more violent. I’d recommend to anyone looking for an entertainingly humorous action flick. “Are they trying to shoot the drones down? …No, they are trying to fly that tank” – The A-Team.

Sex and the City 2

So I had wanted to see this movie because I was a fan of the show, more or less, and did really enjoy the first movie when it came out. I was a little hesistant however because the premise of this movie seemed a little bit sketchy and the last movie seemed to tie things up so well. I'm also nothing like the girls on this show and so the fashion/girly aspect wasn't a major selling point either for me. I did end up seeing it in the theater however and well . . . read on.

So the plot is super basic. Everyone is all dramatic about their current state of their relationships, as always. It's then decided they will all vacation together to the Abu Dhabi.

Okay, so the plot was apparently very weak and a lot of it felt really forced and unnatural. It tried too hard to incorporate too much into the story. It also gave too much problems and subplots to each of the characters. It's okay to have one of the characters be happy and not facing a dilemma in the movie. There were some great one-liners thrown in a couple of times, but the dialogue just didn't seem that well thought out. It just seemed like this movie was put together in a hurry without really smoothing it out first.

Well of course the sets and costumes were super lavish. Almost over the top. It's crazy to think that these characters would wear and live in these kinds of places in real life. But it is a nice escape and Carrie and Big's new apartment was ultra gorgeous. The soundtrack was in keeping with the first movie and there wasn't any real problems with the cinematography.

So the girls did the same they've done this whole time pretty much, except they're getting older but their characters really haven't caught up with them, which was a little unbelievable. I don't think they really did a bad job or anything, I think it was just major plot problems and based on this, the franchise should've ended with the first movie.

Overall, it was semi-entertaining but it seemed to go on forever with long periods of not-so funny moments. I think die-hard fans will like it because their judgement will be clouded by all the pretty shoes and clothes, but underneath the plot is just weak, and not to mention the way India is treated in the movie. So, I was dissappointed because I did enjoy the first movie, but I came in to this one with low expectations. I would recommend to the fans of the show only. "There should be a law against hiring a nanny that hot." " There is, its the Jude Law" -- Sex and the City 2.

Get Him To The Greek

So I was totally stoked when I heard about this movie coming out. 1) I love love love Forgetting Sarah Marshall and 2) Infant Sorrow is my most favorite fake band of all time. I decided to see this movie right after seeing Killers in the theater and pulled a double feature, that I payed for later. I'll come out and say it now that it was totally worth it!

The movie is a spin-off from the character of Aldous Snow, lead singer of the rock band Infant Sorrow, originally featured in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which also had Jonah Hill in it but as a different character. In this movie, Jonah Hill works for a music label and must accompany Snow on his way to a reunion performance at the Greek theater and only has 72 hours to do so, which isn't as easy as it sounds with the last remaining real rockstar.

The plot was inventive and interesting. The characters were really well written, especially Aldous' character, which is obvious since he got his own major movie deal as a spin-off from another movie. There were so many great quotable lines from this movie because the dialogue was really well written, although I have a feeling the funniest parts were probably ad-libbed.

The movie's cinematography was really great for this type of movie. I really loved the different camera angles and editing used based on the different types of drugs they were on at the time basically. The editing was fast paced and kept up with the movie and the action. The soundtrack was awesome, there was 19 great songs written for this movie and I've now purchased the soundtrack! The tabloid/news media montage in the beginning of the movie was amazing and really inventive.

The humor from the movie definitely came from the actors, and it wasn't all just Jonah Hill and Russell Brand. Puff Daddy, or Sean Combs or whatever he's called this week, was actually really funny. From his lines in the trailer, it looked like he was going to just have this semi-funny cameo. But he actually had a big role and was a lot funnier in the movie. Rose Bryne, plays Jackie Q, Aldous' model/singer girlfriend and she was super hilarioius, especially in her fake music videos. ( Emily Blunt was actually signed on for this role but then backed out, I think she would have been even funnier :( )Elisabeth Moss who plays Jonah Hill was also pretty funny in her role. There was also a super amazing awesome cameo by, yes none other than Kristen Bell. Just made the movie that much cooler!

I had a really great time watching this movie. It was some really great rated R humor. Much like Forgetting Sarah Marshall or even The Hangover, but on Rock n Roll steroids! It was just constant action and humor pretty much throughout the whole movie. When you think about everything that was put into this movie, i.e concerts, music video shoots, etc, it's amazing it was all done so well. Russell Brand actually filmed the concerts scenes at his own sold out comedy tour which is just the coolest thing ever. I really love Russell Brand even more than before now. I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys this type of rated R drug/sex/Rock N Roll humor. "Sneeze and clench, sneeze and clench" -- Get Him to the Greek.