Made In Dagenham

This is a film out of England, so I had a little trouble understanding everything said. But apart from that, it's a very good movie. It chronicles women working in a Ford plant that went on strike in order to receive equal pay. The movie is based on true events and takes place in the late '60's. Makes me a little sad that women to this day receive less pay than men. Sally Hawkins stars and does a great job.

True Grit

I haven't read the book, nor have I seen the John Wayne movie so I am going solely off of this movie. Normally, a Coen Brothers movie is very dark and has a weird element to it that I don't normally like. So, here's to the first Coen Brothers movie that I really enjoyed. Jeff Bridges is once again amazing. Haley Steinfeld is incredible for someone so young. There are some laughs, and the music was really great. That's not something one would normally take note of, but it caught my attention with how good it was.

The King's Speech

This movie definitely lives up to the hype. It's brilliant. Colin Firth is tremendous and will be a strong contender for Best Actor. I think his competition will be Jeff Bridges from True Grit and since he took home a trophy last year, I believe it goes to Colin Firth this year. It made me a little sad as I know my mom would have loved this movie, and I always discussed movies with her. Hopefully God held a private screening up in Heaven.

The Fighter

Boxing fans will love this movie. I liked it, but I'm not a boxing fan. I can appreciate it though, thinking of the way that I love football and thus love a good movie based around football (Mark Wahlberg already covered football in Invincible). It is an interesting story and has great acting.

Black Swan

This movie is a real head trip. I needed a little time after the show to really think about it and comprehend what was going on. Natalie Portman is great. There is one scene which I'm still confused on so if anyone sees this - let's discuss.

The Jonses

Has anyone seen this? I never heard of it and found it on Netflix. It stars David Duchovny and Demi Moore. Usually the fact that you haven't heard of it doesn't bode well, but every once in a while there's a gem. I found this movie to be incredibly interesting. It's got a concept that really makes you think. I can't say what it is without giving too much away, but if you get a chance, check this movie out and let me know what you think.

Solitary Man

This is a movie about a 60-ish year old man who can't face getting older and becoming irrelevant. So to fight that he begins sleeping with young ladies and commits fraud in an effort to stay on top in business and ends up losing everything. I didn't really care for it. I'd either A) like to have more faith in men than that or B) don't want to spend an hour and a half watching proof of their stupidity.

The Tourist

This was a really fun movie. I don't particularly like Angelina Jolie but there's no denying that she's a great actress. And who doesn't like Johnny Depp? They made a great pair in this caper movie. Oscar - I don't think so. A fun couple of hours - definitely.

Fair Game

This was a really good movie, but a movie that will disgust you with just how callous and morally corrupt our government can be. Sean Penn is amazing as he usually is. Definitely a must see!

Date Night

This was cute. It wasn't laugh out loud funny but it's worth renting for a date night :)

127 Hours

I think everyone knows the story of this movie - Aaron Ralston is hiking in a canyon by himself when he falls and is followed by a gigantic rock which then lands, pinning his arm. He is stuck there for days and finally resorts to cutting his own arm off with a dull switchblade knife. The story is intriguing and amazing, although I wasn't crazy about how this movie was shot. I get why they did it - it was an effort to show the desperation of the situation. I just wasn't crazy about some of the shots. James Franco was amazing though.

Formosa Betrayed

This is about an interesting subject matter - true events about the struggle in Taiwan between communist Chinese rule and an independent democracy. But the movie wasn't as good as it could be. The first half is cheesy cop lines straight out of a bad episode of CSI Miami. The second half gets more interesting but the movie jumps around and it's very difficult to tell who is on which side.

Harry Brown

This is about a man who has lost his daughter and just recently his wife. He then loses the only friend he has left to thugs that have taken over his neighborhood. He has nothing left to lose, so he goes after the thugs, recalling his past military skills. This is a bit harsh on the vigilante movie front - but it is Michael Caine and he is so good.

Extraordinary Measures

This was what Social Network was to Facebook, except it was to a medicine for a disease called Pompe. It showed the process and struggles with getting a product out there, and in this case it had life and death consequences. I found it very interesting and it makes you think of all those people out there struggling with disease while politics and bureacracy take their time.

Burlesque

I thought this was an enjoyable movie. The storyline is predictable, but the music is fun. If you like Christina Aguilera's voice (and I do), you will like this movie.

Greenberg

I didn't understand this movie. It's not that the story was hard to understand - there's nothing to not get. What I didn't understand was the point of it. It just chronicles a few weeks in the life of this guy who is a total jerk. After the movie, I watched an episode of Human Target and that was so much more enjoyable than this movie.

Megamind

This was an entertaining movie and the 3D was really great. My whole family went and it was fun for the kids and adults.

City Island

I watched this with my dad the night before Thanksgiving and had a great time. It is a really funny, enjoyable movie. It's about a completely dysfunctional family and they all have secrets, but it's done in a light-hearted, charming way. Definitely one to check out.

The White Ribbon

This is a German film from 2009. The previews looked intriguing, but after seeing the movie, I don't know what I just watched. People that know me know that I cannot appreciate movies that I don't understand, and I didn't understand this one. If anyone has any insight into this movie, please let me know.

Unstoppable

I expected and hoped that this movie would be Speed with trains. It was exactly that and was awesome! It is intense, sit on the edge of your seat fun.

Winter's Bone

For folks out there that take movies seriously, this is a must see. It reminded me of Frozen River - a great movie from 2 years ago. Not in story, but in look and feel. It's a movie that is so good and hopefully gets some recognition. There's no one you've heard of in it, but the acting and the story is amazing.

Please Give

This movie is getting some oscar buzz for the actors in it so I had to see it. It wasn't bad, but I don't like movies with cheating involved. Sorry - I don't want to ruin a movie for anyone. But, it makes me uncomfortable and I don't want to be uncomfortable watching a movie. And Oliver Platt with Amanda Peet - typical Hollywood to pair the really hot young chic with the not so attractive older man.

The City of Your Final Destination

This movie, starring Anthony Hopkins and Laura Linney, is the kind of love story that I like. It's not a cheesy romantic comedy. This is a drama with a real story to it, not predictable and fake. This has an interesting story to it.

A Prophet

This is a french film (yes I'm a total movie nerd). It is based in a men's prison and apparently prisons in France are just as harsh as U.S. prisons appear. It revolves around a man balancing life between two rival ethnic groups. It was interesting but the movie was too long and I didn't understand some of the things that happened in it. I wouldn't recommend.

The Social Network

I found this to be a really interesting movie. If you have an interest in business, I think you'll like it. If you have no interest in business or just think it will be a fun movie about Facebook, I think you'll be disappointed. It definitely highlights the pitfalls that can happen when you come up with a multi-million dollar idea before you hit legal drinking age.

The Town

This movie was so good. It's a bank heist movie and was done really well. There is one scene that is pretty much a rip off from Heat, but I can forgive that. Definitely a must -see.

The Runaways

This band obviously has a really intriguing story - but the movie left a lot to be desired. The movie was almost soley focused on Cherie Curry, but wasn't done very well. I feel like a lot of their story was left out, but The Doors and Walk The Line managed to feel like complete stories. It's a bummer this wasn't done better.

The Ghost Writer

This was supposed to be good. Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan. A sub-par journalist discovers a political cover-up involving the CIA. It sounds so good. But the movie was so boring. Pass on this one.

Hot Tub Time Machine

I heard good things about this movie so I was really looking forward to it. I thought it was just ok. It's slightly amusing but there weren't any huge laughs. Glad I didn't spend the theater money to see it.

Book of Eli

Another great post-apocalyptic movie (see also The Road). Denzel Washington plays a character that knows the power the bible has and is protecting the only copy left on earth. Definitely a movie to see.

Green Zone

This movie didn't do that well at the box office but I really liked it. It's about a soldier in Iraq (Matt Damon) who explores sites said to have weapons of mass destruction. When every site turns up empty, he starts to question the army intelligence. It's a great take on the question of those fabled, never to be found WMD's.

Chloe

This is a movie about infidelity in a marriage, which is uncomfortable to watch and I'm not even married. But it strays from reality a bit when the characters react to situations in ways that I would find hard to believe any person would. I don't particularly care for movies that are based on real life situations but then have characters react in ways that 99% of us never would.

The Road

This was a really good and really interesting movie - which leads me to believe that the book must have been amazing. Viggo Mortenson is in every virtually every scene of the movie and is teriffic.

Alice in Wonderland

This is definitly a Tim Burton movie. I really liked it. I liked the look and feel and the characters. Johnny Depp is amazing (not a big surprise). It was a great interpretation of the story.

The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo (swedish version)

I am usually not a fan of a movie if I've read the book beforehand. The conversion to film leaves too many things out and sometimes changes the story around for no apparent reason. Not only did this movie do those things, but I found the acting to be very wooden. This story contains extremely emotional events and the characters showed virtually no emotion. I'm hoping the american version does a better interpretation of the book, but I'm not holding my breath.

Leap Year

Like most romantic comedies, this wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. My issue with this one (well with most romantic comedies) is how completely unrealistic it is, particularly the ending sequence. But, we're all suckers for a good love story, no matter how implausible, every once in awhile.

Valentine's Day

This is a completely predictable rom-com. Normally I'm the one who never sees the plot twists coming, while everyone else figured it out a half hour ago. But even I knew exactly what was going to happen in this movie. Not exactly a threat to win an oscar...

Edge of Darkness

If you can get past the craziness that is Mel Gibson's life, this movie is actually not bad. I expected worse so was pleasantly surprised. I don't have a problem with the way the movie ended, but there should've been one more scene that in my opinion would've made the movie more satisfying. I don't want to ruin it, so if anyone watches it and would like to discuss, let me know.

The Kids Are Alright

This is about 2 married lesbian women with two teenage kids, who find the guy who donated sperm to their mothers. Mark Ruffalo is so great in this role and Annette Benning and Julianne Moore are fantastic as the lesbian mothers. It's a drama and yet is funny the whole way through. Definitely check this out.

Shutter Island

I heard a lot of mixed reviews on this movie, but I loved it. It's got a mental hospital for the criminally insane, flashbacks to World War II, and Leonardo Dicaprio. That's pretty much all I need. Definitely see this movie.

It's Complicated

This movie was ok. I didn't laugh out loud once. The best part for me was John Krasinkski playing a "Jim" type character and that was good. I didn't really think there was anything too special about this one.

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus

I thought that I wouldn't really like this movie, thinking that it would be too weird. And it is weird. But it's good. The way that the movie was able to incorporate Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell into Heath Ledger's role was done in a fantastic way. And I liked the story and the fantasy of it all. I'm a little surprised that this movie didn't get more attention just for how good it was.

The Messenger

This is a movie about soldiers that notify families of their loved one dying in the war. It's a really interesting look at a different side to war. Having to notify families as part of your duty has got to take a toll and this movie examines that. I found it to be very intriguing.

Tenderness

This is a Russell Crowe movie from 2009 that I don't really remember hearing much about. It's disturbing in some parts but it's a pretty powerful movie. Crowe plays a semi-retired cop who is convinced that a kid convicted of killing his parents but released when he turned 18 will kill again. Despite its hard subject matter at times, I thought this was really good.

Robin Hood

This was a great take on the beginning of the Robin Hood legend. Russell Crowe is amazing and this was just an all around good movie.

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans

Skip this movie. There are shots in the movie that don't make sense. There are scenes that last too long. The movie is about an incredibly corrupt cop who never bears any consequences for his actions. Really not good on many levels.

Broken Embraces

I was skeptical about this movie because I didn't like Volver, which was also Penelope Cruz as actress and Pedro Almodovar as director. I will say that this was better than I thought it would be. However it is too long. Also, the ending is a bit awkward.

The September Issue

This is a documentary focused on Anna Wintour and the making of an issue of Vogue. Apparently the September issue is said to set the trends in fashion for the following year. I found it really interesting. Especially the fact that her daughter and siblings seem to find her line of work to be a bit trivial. And, while I agree that fashion can be trivial, it also generates big money and employs a lot of people, and there's nothing trivial about that.

3:10 To Yuma

I watched this again the other day (the re-make with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale). This is a really good movie. Russell Crowe plays such a great bad guy who still has just a touch of good left in him. I'm not much of a western movie genre fan, but this is just a straight up good movie.

Sherlock Holmes

I've seen this twice now and I liked it better the 2nd time I saw it. The first time, I was concentrating so hard on understanding the english accents that a lot of the humor got by me. The second time, I watched it with subtitles and liked it better.

Did You Hear About the Morgan's?

This is a typical romantic comedy. I don't think Hugh Grant knows how to do anything else. It's not great but it's not horrible either.

Sex & The City 2

I went to this movie without my girlfriends and that made me a little sad, since the core of Sex & The City is the friendship between the four women. I did still like the movie though. There is a karoke scene that is pretty cheesy but that is followed up by a heart to heart between Charlotte and Miranda on how hard it is being a mother that I found very believable. All in all, I liked the movie and will buy the dvd to complete my SATC collection.

The Men Who Stare At Goats

I know this movie didn't receive good reviews, but I kept thinking that a movie with George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Spacey had to be worth seeing. I was wrong. This movie was so boring. I had a hard time staying awake watching it. Oh - and it didn't make a whole lot of sense. If you watch, know that you will never get that time back.

Tyler Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself

This is the first Madea movie I've seen and she's a funny character. Taraji P Henson, besides being beautiful, is really good. This is a drama with some funny parts and some great music.

Iron Man 2

It's a sequel, so don't think it's better or just as good as the original. But, it's still good. I had a great time watching it. Although there are parts that I didn't quite understand due to not knowing the comic book story (Samuel L Jackson's and Scarlett Johanssen's characters). Robert Downey Jr is still so great. One thing I noticed is there is a scene where Hammer walks on stage at the Stark Expo and is dancing to a song. That same song is the opening music to Swingers. Jon Favreau wrote and starred in Swingers and directed (and has a role in) Iron Man 2. Coincidence? Maybe, but I hope not. Go see it - or you won't know what everyone else is talking about!!

Babies

This is a documentary that follows 4 babies in their first year of life. One baby is from Africa, one is from Japan, one is from Mongolia, and one is from San Francisco. There's no commentary, just film of the babies. Not only is it really interesting to see life in 4 different cultures, but it is hilarious. I went with my sister and we both were laughing like crazy. At one point I had tears coming out of my eyes because I was laughing so hard. Definitely go see this to laugh and fill up on cute babies!

The Informant

This was a really interesting and surprisingly funny movie. It is loosely based on a true story so now I will need to read the book to find out what was real and what was fiction. Matt Damon was very good in this. Definitely worth the rental price and time.

Brothers

I was very skeptical on this movie. The trailer made it look like they took the love story from Pearl Harbor and inserted it into a more recent war. I had dinner recently with a friend that just got back from Iraq and he had just seen the movie. He assured me that wasn't the case and that he found the adjustment phase after coming home from war to be very authentic. While I can't speak to that, he was definitely right about the love story part. That was actually a very minor part of the movie. It's really about Tobey McGuire's adjusting to home after being in Afghanistan. It's a really intense movie but very good.

The Goods: Live Hard Sell Hard

I love Jeremy Piven (he's cute Liz!!!!). Plus, the lead girl from the tv show My Boys is in it and I love that show. So I enjoyed this movie. It's going to be a movie that you either really like or don't get at all and I really liked it.

2012

This is a typical end of the world disaster movie. Did you see The Day After Tomorrow? If yes, then you've seen this movie as well.

Law Abiding Citizen

This was not a good movie. It's very brutal, and Gerard Butler's character's reasoning for his killing of many innocent people in the movie makes no sense whatsoever. So one watches all of this brutal violence with no sense of it being for some higher purpose. And I personally need that sense of higher purpose to endure watching something like that. Don't waste your time on this one.

Bright Star

This is quite a beautiful love story. And I am always fascinated by life set in
1800's England. The class structure defines life in that era and it's not even really that long ago.

The Time Traveller's Wife

This movie was just ok. I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. As far as romantic movies go, Rachel McAdams was perfect in The Notebook and should now move on to comedies, non-romantic drama, suspense... She was good in The Wedding Crashers but again, she was playing the romantic character, not the funny one. Time to conquer other genres Rachel...

Whip It

I thought this was a cute movie. It's a very predictable formula but still enjoyable. Ellen Page plays this type of character so well. No one else should be allowed to play the disaffected yet hip teenage girl but her.

Couples Retreat

Everyone knows I'm a huge Vince Vaughn fan. He plays all of his roles with basically the same schtick, but I love it everytime. This movie includes his buddies Jason Bateman and Jon Favreau and is directed by another buddy Peter Billingsly. Overall, it's an ok movie. It's pretty predictable. Good for a movie rental night at home.

Amelia

I am not normally a Hillary Swank fan but I really liked her in this movie. If you don't know Amelia Earhart's story (and I didn't), the first half was a little confusing as it jumped around a little bit. And, as is often the case with biopics or movies made from books, you can tell there is a lot more to the story than what the movie shows. But all in all, I liked it.

Invention of Lying

I am a big fan of Ricky Gervais, but this movie wasn't that great. I got bored and found my mind wandering about half way through. It wasn't nearly as funny as I hoped it would be.

Love Happens

I love Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking is great!) so I got sucked in to this movie. There's always some reason that I get sucked into watching these romantic movies. My friend Eric thinks it's because deep down I'm a romantic at heart. I'm not so sure but whatever the reason may be, I watched it. It's not a bad movie, but the cynic in me (the yang to the romantic in me?)never thinks life is anywhere near life in a romantic movie. At least Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston match up well and both are charming people so while the movie can be a bit cliche at times, it's still likable enough.

All About Steve

Amazing that Sandra Bullock wins Best Actress for Blind Side and Worst Actress for this movie all in the same year. I watched this movie expecting it to be horrible. And it wasn't great, that's for sure. But I'm not sure she deserves Worst Actress for this movie. I've definitely seen worse.

Fame

I was really looking forward to this movie, being a fan of Fame from back in the day. So I was pretty disappointed after I saw it. The movie was just a hodge podge of many different stories, spending so little time on each one that you never cared or became invested in any of them. Too bad - I think this could've been a really great movie.

2010 Oscars!!!

I watched every second of the show of course. So some thoughts: I thought that Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin did a great job. As much as I love Neil Patrick Harris, I have no idea what his opening number was about. If they are always concerned with the show going long, why have that in there? It made no sense to me. I thought Sandra Bullock had the best dress and looked amazing. I was thrilled to see Colin Farrell introduce Jeremy Renner because I loved them both so much in SWAT. What was up with that chic that totally interupted her partner during his speech during one of the documentary awards? That was weird and I'd be ticked if I were that guy. So glad The Hurt Locker won so many awards. That was my pick!! Finally, when Kathryn Bigelow came out onstage for the Best Picture award, her arms were so stiff and straight at her side carrying her awards. She reminded me of Molly Shannon's straight arm character from Seinfeld. That's it - I'm exhausted after working late tonight. Watch for more updates soon on more movies!!!!

Crazy Heart

I loved the music in this movie. T-Bone Burnett does it again. Jeff Bridges plays the washed up alcoholic country singer to perfection. My only complaint with this movie is that if there were ever a movie to perfectly portray how Hollywood favors younger actresses, this is it. Maggie Gyllenhall is good in the movie, I just think she is too young for this role. This role belongs to an actress in her 40's. I had a hard time buying 30 yr old Maggie with the perfect body falling for fat, drunk, old Jeff Bridges.

Up in the Air

I did not see what all the buzz about this movie was. Was it just because it was a George Clooney movie? I can understand that, but I don't understand this movie being nominated for Best Picture. This movie is a romantic comedy. It is probably a step or two above your average chick flick romcom, but that's what it is. I didn't hate it but I don't think it's a Best Picture nominee.

Up

I cried throughout the first 10 minutes of this movie and I don't ever cry at movies. Oh - and this is an animated movie! I was happy when, after watching it and going online, I read that other people had also cried. This was a great movie, so fun and so touching.

Precious

What a movie. This movie was so dark and extremely hard to watch. But it was also fantastic and courageous. The acting is incredible and the director, Lee Daniels, probably deserves the Best Director award for being able to pull out those emotions from his cast. If you haven't seen it yet - be warned. The term "feel good movie" does not apply here.

Inglorious Bastards

I am not a huge Quentin Tarantino fan, but I loved this movie. I am a huge WWII movie fan, and I can't think of any other movie that decided to re-write the history of this war. That's probably because the actual stories are so amazing on their own. But, I thought the story was great and how much fun to imagine this scenario.

District 9

I am not a Science Fiction fan, so I rented this only due to its nomination. But in the end I liked it. It had an interesting concept to it and I liked the way it was shot. However, the aliens look like the aliens in every other alien movie I've seen. They always look like they are built out of scrap metal from someone's backyard shed.

The Blind Side

I am a sucker for an inspirational sports story based on true events. So naturally I loved this movie. I am not a huge Sandra Bullock fan but she nailed this role. She's been getting a lot of the attention but in addition to her, Quinton Aaron, a relative newcomer, was so great. He played Michael Oher and was so good: heart-warming and heart-wrenching at the same time.

Avatar

I saw this in 3D which is really the only way to see this movie. The 3D technology is amazing and made this very long movie much more interesting to watch. The story isn't new and the acting isn't fantastic. It's not a bad movie but I don't think it would be getting all the attention and making all the money it's making if it wasn't for the visual effects.

A Serious Man

This movie is very much a Cohen Brothers movie. Usually they are a little too out there for me, but I liked this one. I don't want to give anything away but I will say that the ending is abrupt. I don't think that this movie will win Best Picture but I did find it to be an interesting take on 60's suburban life.

A Single Man

Colin Firth is so fantastic in this movie. I think Jeff Bridges will win Best Actor on Sunday night and he was great but I would love to see Colin come away with that award. This movie is so good and my heart just broke for Colin's character and the pain he was feeling at the death of his partner.

An Education

I saw this movie and came out of it liking it. As time passed, I am liking it even more. It's set in 1960's London which is a totally cool scene on its own. But add a book-smart yet naieve high schooler and an incredibly charming older man to that and you get this great movie. The story is not surprising. You can see all along what is going to happen. But sometimes that can be ok and in this movie it is.

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is my favorite to win Best Picture this Sunday. It was so real that it almost felt like a documentary. I was really happy to see Jeremy Renner do such a great job in this movie. I've been a fan of his since he played a fantastic bad guy in SWAT. He's up for Best Actor and I know he won't win but I was happy to see him nominated. This movie is so good on so many levels. If you haven't seen it - make a point to watch it.